What if one day we lost everything? What if life as we know was one day taken from us, leaving us to continue on with the painful memory of loss and the confusion of trying to make sense in a strange new set of circumstances? On another blog (click on the title for the link), Donna poses a similar question. The following was my comment and I though I would post this on my blog too.
The death of a son was enough to tear down the foundation of my faith. After the death of my son, the only thing I was sure of was that there had to be a God or else this life was nothing but a cruel joke that made even less sense then a life originating from God yet contains immense human suffering.
At the moment of realizing you are not sure about anything in terms of religious faith, it becomes quite a lonely world. You may still "go to church" but you have no adequate words to express the present crisis of faith.
For me, eventually I began to read scripture again. I read it with an open mind but also with a mind-set that was not sure if I would find what I was looking for. I didn't but I also did. I didn't find just another manual with a set of instructions on how to adhere to another religion nor did I find the answer to why human suffering exists. What I found was a witness to life and hope. I understood at that moment why these pages of scripture were described as Divine Revelation. I understood why those who read these scriptures before have passed them down. For in them I not only found my own story setting and conflict, I also found the climax and resolution -- the promise that a crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ is the reality of hope -- a hope that says the present suffering is not the end of the story. This was truly a liberating moment and still is.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
God or Other?
God or the Other… To most of us, that seems like a simple choice. We choose God. Do we really? I know we like to think we choose God but then there are so many ways in which that choice can be construed. God or riches, God or fame, God or career, even God or family… The list goes on and on. What would our choice be? We want to choose God but the alternative can be so enticing that we can become lulled into believing it is the better choice.
I am reminded of a story in the Gospel of Luke about a “rich man” who met Jesus one day. The man appears to be very religious, as religious as anyone of us. But Jesus found one facet of his life that was keeping him from truly choosing God – his wealth. When Jesus confronted the man, Luke tells us, “When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy” (Luke 18.23, TNIV). The story never actually tells us that this man failed to choose God. Instead, it only implies the failure to make the correct choice. What Luke emphasizes is the sadness. That is the part of the other never advertised.
Today I came across a story about a man named Jack Whittaker who won a $315 million dollar lottery several years back (Shaya Tayee Mohajer, “Is Powerball Win a Nightmare or Fantasy?,” Associated Press, 2007). Today, according to the article, Mr. Whittaker claims sadness. He says that becoming rich has left him without any friends, became a source of trouble that has left his family and marriage in disarray and for all the money he has, he is not able to buy a cure to his daughter’s cancer. In the end, Mr. Whittaker is quoted saying “I'm only going to be remembered as the lunatic who won the lottery… I'm not proud of that. I wanted to be remembered as someone who helped a lot of people.”
I don’t know what Mr. Whittaker religious convictions are. I do know that for most of us, we have and will continue to face the choice of God or Other. There may be a lot of things about the other choices that appear attractive but in the end, there is sadness when that choice becomes a choice against God.
I am reminded of a story in the Gospel of Luke about a “rich man” who met Jesus one day. The man appears to be very religious, as religious as anyone of us. But Jesus found one facet of his life that was keeping him from truly choosing God – his wealth. When Jesus confronted the man, Luke tells us, “When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy” (Luke 18.23, TNIV). The story never actually tells us that this man failed to choose God. Instead, it only implies the failure to make the correct choice. What Luke emphasizes is the sadness. That is the part of the other never advertised.
Today I came across a story about a man named Jack Whittaker who won a $315 million dollar lottery several years back (Shaya Tayee Mohajer, “Is Powerball Win a Nightmare or Fantasy?,” Associated Press, 2007). Today, according to the article, Mr. Whittaker claims sadness. He says that becoming rich has left him without any friends, became a source of trouble that has left his family and marriage in disarray and for all the money he has, he is not able to buy a cure to his daughter’s cancer. In the end, Mr. Whittaker is quoted saying “I'm only going to be remembered as the lunatic who won the lottery… I'm not proud of that. I wanted to be remembered as someone who helped a lot of people.”
I don’t know what Mr. Whittaker religious convictions are. I do know that for most of us, we have and will continue to face the choice of God or Other. There may be a lot of things about the other choices that appear attractive but in the end, there is sadness when that choice becomes a choice against God.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
The Best Life Now... For Who?
Click the title of this post to be redirect to the blog of Jordan McCall for which I am making this post. Jordan, a young wife and mother of two, is battling cancer. As she battles cancer, she also sits in a Sunday-School class studying the book “Your Best Life Now” by Joel Osteen. She sits and listens to Christians speaking about how God wants them to have a “blessed life” (materially abundant life without struggle) while she prays that God will just heal her body and allow her to see her children grow up.
I must admit that I have not read the above mentioned book. I have read enough reputable reviews to know I don’t want to waste my time or money on the book. I am not sure how Churches and Christians can read their Bibles and yet believe and promote a “health and wealth” gospel. I never believed such a gospel before the death of my son. After the death of Kenny, the health and wealth theology became outright insulting. What is more troubling is the fact that contemporary trends in Christian rarely encourage and foster an environment for open grief and lament before God (try finding a song of lament in any church hymnal).
In the collection of Psalms, we read, “I cry aloud to the Lord, I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble” (Ps 143.1-2, TNIV). This is just one of many laments found in the Psalms and throughout scripture. If we are going to be a Christian community shaped by the words of scripture, then we must recognize the place of lament in our communal life. Just as we express our praises throughout worship, people who suffer must be allowed to express their faith – a faith of pain and lament – to God as well. Then we become a community for both the happy and sad, the blessed and afflicted.
I must admit that I have not read the above mentioned book. I have read enough reputable reviews to know I don’t want to waste my time or money on the book. I am not sure how Churches and Christians can read their Bibles and yet believe and promote a “health and wealth” gospel. I never believed such a gospel before the death of my son. After the death of Kenny, the health and wealth theology became outright insulting. What is more troubling is the fact that contemporary trends in Christian rarely encourage and foster an environment for open grief and lament before God (try finding a song of lament in any church hymnal).
In the collection of Psalms, we read, “I cry aloud to the Lord, I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble” (Ps 143.1-2, TNIV). This is just one of many laments found in the Psalms and throughout scripture. If we are going to be a Christian community shaped by the words of scripture, then we must recognize the place of lament in our communal life. Just as we express our praises throughout worship, people who suffer must be allowed to express their faith – a faith of pain and lament – to God as well. Then we become a community for both the happy and sad, the blessed and afflicted.
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