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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Joy in suffering

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Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
Romans 5:3-5
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The spread of my youngest's arthritis is causing something of a crisis of faith among a few members of my church. I've heard it expressed that "It is NOT God's will that the innocent should suffer." I've also heard prayers reminding God that my son has two godly parents (maybe only in comparison to some), and because of that, my son should be healed. Last night at prayer meeting, a man wondered aloud how a person could be joyful in their salvation when his/her child was suffering. I was going to answer him, but he continued on with his train of thought, indicating that he believed the answer was "S/he can't be joyful."
I keep wondering if these people have read the book of Job -- or the rest of the Bible, for that matter.
Don't get me wrong. I greatly appreciate the prayers for my son's healing, and it would be truly awesome to be able to see him run around like any healthy seven-year-old. I hope that God plans to completely heal my son soon.
But as of right now, He hasn't.
The fact that God hasn't healed my son doesn't hurt my faith, nor does it give me reason to be angry at God. Why? Because of scriptures like the one above, and many others (Romans 8:18-39; Hebrews 12:7-13; James 1:2-4). Because of my own experiences with suffering (I've needed it!). But most of all, because Jesus suffered.
Think about it. God Himself came to earth, and what did He receive? Glory and honor? Peace and long life? No. He received rejection and humiliation, hatred and crucifixion. If Creator of the Universe received those things while He was on earth, what makes His followers expect to receive better? Praise God for His grace and mercy -- because we often do receive much better than we deserve. But sometimes, we don't. And sometimes, the ones we love don't.
Now the whole question of suffering becomes more difficult to deal with when it's a child who doesn't understand what he's going through or why. But the fact is, we simply have no idea what kinds of things he will have to face in the future for which this hardship may be preparing him. And the fact is, of all the different kinds of suffering, physical suffering is probably the easiest. From my experience, it's easier to deal with physical difficulties than emotional, mental or spiritual difficulties. And the fact is, physical suffering often drives us further into the arms of God faster than physical health does.
So, how can a person find joy in her salvation in the face of her child's suffering? By the power of the Holy Spirit, by being thankful that it's not as bad as it could be, by knowing that God is ultimately in control, and by trusting that He will bring good out of the situation -- as only He can.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Blogging on the "gray areas"

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Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
1 Corinthians 8:9-13
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"Am I building up the Body of Christ, or am I looking for my own personal development only? The essential thing is my personal relationship to Jesus Christ -- 'That I may know Him.' To fulfill God's design means entire abandonment to Him. Whenever I want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. It will be a big humiliation to realize that I have not been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ, but only about realizing what He has done for me.
~~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
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Last week, I read a blog written by a professing Christian in which this person expressed feeling no regret over watching a very worldly television program. Not only did the blog distress me, but I was also upset by the comments left by other professing Christians supporting this activity and calling those who did not support it "judgmental".
Now, it's one thing for me to say offhand that I saw something the previous night while in the course of a conversation. Likewise, I can say I watch a particular program in the course of asking a friend what she thinks about it. But it's another thing for a person to proclaim, "I'm a Christian and I watch this show and I don't feel bad at all about it." Would a person say s/he doesn't feel guilty about watching something if the show is truly ok? After all, a person wouldn't say, "I'm a Christian and I watch 'The Andy Griffith Show' and I don't feel bad about it." A person only makes a statement like that if the program is truly questionable.
Not only this, but in light of the scripture above, where is the spirit of love, of concern for others, and of humility in saying such a thing? It's not there. What's being proclaimed is self-justification. And those who comment in support of the statement are also justifying themselves, while judging others who disagree and calling them "judgmental". Additionally, there were the typical statements made regarding how so-called "mature" Christians can handle watching all sorts of tv programming, movies, etc.
I remember thinking along similar lines in my early twenties. The issue then was dress, although it could just as well have been entertainment. I would say things like, "It doesn't matter how you dress, as long as your heart is right with God." Now that I'm twenty years older, I can easily see that my heart was NOT right with God at the time, because I cared far more about having my own way than I cared about loving my neighbor -- which is breaking the second greatest commandment.
I realize that it's impossible to make everyone happy all the time. I'm sure that I've blogged about things myself that were offensive to somebody. For instance, I write about the War on Terror because my son is involved in it. I believe I've lost at least one subscriber who is a pacifist because of it. I understand that and I accept it. There may be those who don't believe there's a difference between writing on the war and proclaiming guilt-free entertainment. It's possible. I obviously disagree.
Still, the blog I read and its accompanying comments are a symptom of the declining health of the church in America. As Thomas Jefferson once wrote:
"Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."
I tremble for the church as well.
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EDIT: I wrote this in response to a blog I read on Revelife, which is supposed to be a site about "God, love and the Christian lifestyle". In my mind, a group/team which sets itself up as representative of Christianity should hold itself to higher standards than an individual simply blogging about his/her life. However, if God speaks to you through what I've written here, then I pray good may come of it.