The other night I got to watch two funny little kids; Greta (5) gave me a picture she had drawn for me when she heard I was coming over. She wanted me to put it on my fridge. The thought never occurred to her that I might not want it or expect it to better or anything like that. She just knew that she liked me and wanted to give me something.
I then consider the way I relate to God. I also give gifts but unlike Greta I feel they aren't as good as they should be, that my gifts are simply disappointments.
I have yet to be a parent but occasionally I get these opportunities to see little glimpses of what it's like. What father would be disappointed with his child for showing affection and trying to please him? And my heavenly father is even better than any earthly father.
So, the picture Greta gave me hangs on my fridge and it makes me smile, but it also reminds me that my father isn't disappointed by me but is happy that I love him, no matter how imperfectly.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
What's the point?
Recently I've been listening through a sermon series on 1 Peter with suffering as one of the major themes and I wanted to share my thoughts on the subject. As this is not a common format for me it will likely be a bit choppy so let me know if you have tips on improving.
When we suffer or have a loved one who is suffering we usually have questions like: "Why me?" "How do I make this stop?" "What's the point?" Something is damaged so we want to know why it happened and how to get it working again. We also tend to get mad at whoever we think is responsible, whether it be God, a friend or even ourselves. We retreat from our problems to people and things that help us avoid even thinking about the problem and we're sometimes encouraged in this behavior. Our friends suggest we just need to binge for a while, that "it's normal".
But shouldn't we be different if we're Christians? I get that we're all human and that suffering isn't some easy or fun thing, but I also know that we have been called and chosen to be like Jesus. And as far as I recall, Jesus suffered quite a lot, even before his execution. Furthermore, isn't his power "made perfect in weakness"?
So, doesn't it seem logical that even when we're in terrible pain, that we would conduct ourselves in a way that honors God and puts him first? I'm not saying it's easy by any means, but we need to stop giving ourselves and each other permission to be lazy and sinful when we get hit by something difficult.
Another key part of this is the fact that God uses our pain to humble us and make us more able to minister to others, especially those going through the same thing. Who better to help a girl with anorexia or a man recovering from a bad divorce, etc. than someone who has been there and made it through with God?
So, when we are trusting Jesus even if we don't know yet, someday God will show us what the point of it all was.
I'm no great orator (or blogger) so I know that may not have been entirely coherent and may not have seemed very loving but it was actually intended to be both and I figure the only way to get better at that is to try. Maybe I'll try to repair this haphazard thing later... we'll see. Perhaps next time I'll try to get some sort of story in there to make it more relevant.
When we suffer or have a loved one who is suffering we usually have questions like: "Why me?" "How do I make this stop?" "What's the point?" Something is damaged so we want to know why it happened and how to get it working again. We also tend to get mad at whoever we think is responsible, whether it be God, a friend or even ourselves. We retreat from our problems to people and things that help us avoid even thinking about the problem and we're sometimes encouraged in this behavior. Our friends suggest we just need to binge for a while, that "it's normal".
But shouldn't we be different if we're Christians? I get that we're all human and that suffering isn't some easy or fun thing, but I also know that we have been called and chosen to be like Jesus. And as far as I recall, Jesus suffered quite a lot, even before his execution. Furthermore, isn't his power "made perfect in weakness"?
So, doesn't it seem logical that even when we're in terrible pain, that we would conduct ourselves in a way that honors God and puts him first? I'm not saying it's easy by any means, but we need to stop giving ourselves and each other permission to be lazy and sinful when we get hit by something difficult.
Another key part of this is the fact that God uses our pain to humble us and make us more able to minister to others, especially those going through the same thing. Who better to help a girl with anorexia or a man recovering from a bad divorce, etc. than someone who has been there and made it through with God?
So, when we are trusting Jesus even if we don't know yet, someday God will show us what the point of it all was.
I'm no great orator (or blogger) so I know that may not have been entirely coherent and may not have seemed very loving but it was actually intended to be both and I figure the only way to get better at that is to try. Maybe I'll try to repair this haphazard thing later... we'll see. Perhaps next time I'll try to get some sort of story in there to make it more relevant.
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