In life there are paradoxes, particularly if you are
Christian. Many of these involve suffering. It seems that in America we do not
have much of a theology of suffering. In fact culture tells us like Jobs
friends, that if we do suffer, we caused it. Or at least, we should complain,
take it back for a refund, be angry with God (which is OK), or have a pity
party. I think getting depressed and self-medicating is also a favorite in our
society.
But we all suffer loss of a job, income, health, or loved ones. If you haven’t, you will soon.
Nice philosophy you might say. Actually it is a real life fact. Every one
suffers; it is what we do with it that makes the difference in a full life or
not. James 1:2 tells us, “Consider it pure joy when you come into
losses or trial of all kinds, because the testing of our faith develops
perseverance or steadfastness, which must finish its work so that we may be
mature and complete, lacking nothing.” I taught recently that this joy
is in the knowledge that we have a God who is with us and will never leave us
in this trial and that His love endures forever. But you might say as a writer
of an engaging book, And Not One Bird
Stopped Singing, dealing with loss in aging, that “God went on a sabbatical.” Probably the hard concept to
swallow is that it is us who go on sabbatical and don’t seek God or blame Him in our challenges.
Scripture is full of valleys of the shadow of death. But God
continues to say, fear not, or I am with you always. Really? Yes, seek wisdom
in your loss and the grief that comes with it. It is a process that starts with
denial or anger and shock before we come to grips with its reality and begin to
slowly reinvest in life. There is no way to get through it except by accepting
and going through. We may need help, but
keep on going. God’s power is made
perfect in our weakness. When we are
weak, God is strong, 2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us. We have to die to self to
live, another seeming contradiction.
Said another way, we need to serve others to stop feeling sorry for
ourselves.
It is about hanging
in through the trials, and standing
firm. Our tendency is to run, or get out from under. The paradox is that in
staying we are blessed. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will
be comforted…Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for
theirs in the kingdom of God” (Matthew 5:4,10). Yes the Beatitudes say that our reward in
heaven is great when we are falsely accused, insulted or are persecuted for
Christ’s sake.
Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is a time for
everything under heaven, including life and death, war and peace, weeping and
laughing, tearing and mending, tearing down and building up. God has made
everything beautiful in its time and has set eternity in our hearts. This means
that we will need to take the long view often, as things may not make sense in
the present. Solomon says everything is meaningless for most of his life, but
finally finds the answer in the end. “Now all has been heard: here is the
conclusion to the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the
whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every
hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Yes, there are seeming
paradoxes, but God is good.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts.