It seems that this world is hungry for real. Why do you think people find "real" so refreshing? Why is it so hard to be real? I think there are lots of answers to that question. As Christians I think we often struggle with being really real because we have this notion that God is/was going to fix it all. We believed that somehow being a christian gave us a supernatural edge. A way to dodge the bullets of fate. Admit it, on some level we have believed that. We believed that if we prayed hard enough, fasted, intercessed, that it would give us the answer we sought. We would be healed. We would be miraculously lifted out of our desperation. God would miraculously intervene. Don't get me wrong, I do believe we should pray, fast, war for what we want God to do and I do believe that sometimes we get what we want. But, what if getting what we want is not what it's about? What if God allows the bad so it will drive us to him? I believe that at some point along the way Tom wanted to go home. I wanted him to stay. I begged for him to stay. I travailed, but to what end? So that he could live another 30-40 years in this world with all of it's suffering, only to die in the end anyway. How silly that we should even ask for more time here really. We still have the basic belief deep down in our soul that this predictable life is it. That this predictable world is better than the next. If we could really grasp what is ahead we would be begging God to take us now.
Back to "real". All across the US right now there are Occupy Wall Street protests going on. What theses people want is a reality check. They want honesty. Integrity. They each have a different agenda but the theme is the same. They want to be able to trust our government to represent the people. They want to be able to believe what comes out of our mouths. In many ways we individually do not lead authentic lives. We paint a pretty picture of ourselves for the world to see. We often paint it under the guise of our faith. Our belief that God is good and we are somehow special and deserve special treatment from the God of the universe. How incredibly arrogant of us. If truth be told God is probably more concerned about the welfare of the unsaved than he is about us because he knows where we are going. Non believers are not fooled by our spiritual arrogance. They can see through it better than we can see ourselves. They know we hurt and suffer just like they do and they realize that God is not some sort of magic that takes it all away. They also wonder why we don't swear at this life. Why we don't share our heartache openly. Do we feel that in sharing the bad and the ugly that it somehow shows a lack of faith or trust in God? I'm not really sure why but in all honesty we often don't share how very real and painful this life is. And they are hungry for the truth. Not the candy coated cliches we are accustomed to giving but the real, ugly truth. Some of the most comforting things said to me have been the depths of other widows grief years later. I need to know that I won't wake up one day soon and it will be gone. I need to know that when I wake up one day in the future and the pain is still there, that my pain is real and normal and other christian women are feeling this same pain still. Nothing could be worse than telling our children that tomorrow we are going to go to Disneyland and surprise, we really are not going at all. People deserve our truth. People deserve for us to be real. They deserve to know that God does not always fix it but that His presence is always there. Walking the valley floor with us. Let us use our suffering to drive us to Him. Maybe that was the real purpose anyway. To drive us to Him. So, next time you are given the opportunity to be real, tell the truth. No cliche's, just the honest truth. Let the world see that we are really no different than they are. We bleed just like they do. The only real difference is that we know our final destination and the God of the universe walks with us in our suffering.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him/ who have been called according to his purpose.
I wrote something here and then it disappeared, so I'll say it again.
ReplyDeleteWhen I became a believer I was always taught (by example of Christians who'd been much longer in the faith than I) that if we talk about how we're really feeling, then we're not spiritual. Well, I didn't want to appear unspiritual of course, so I kept my mouth shut if anything was bothering me.
We had teachings on "think on these [the wonderful, pure, etc.] things, but we were never taught how to be real. Because those teaching us didn't want to appear unspiritual, either. So there we all were, singing praises to God every week, telling each other we were fine, when in reality, we were a bunch of hurting people at times. But oh, we looked good!
The most obvious example of this happened to me not so many years ago in a church I'd been going to for several years. I wasn't a stranger there and the pastors knew who I was. One Sunday morning I was having a particularly difficult time; I was in a lot of emotional pain, so bad that when one of the pastors, at the end of the service when everyone was filing out gave me a big smile and said, "Hi, how are you?", I took the risk and said, "Well, actually, I'm having a really hard time."
He gave me a huge smile and said, "That's great! I'm glad to hear it!" And he kept walking right by me, not hearing a word I said, so used to people saying, "I'm fine" that my words didn't even register with him. He wasn't even listening.
Back in those days, I was far more compliant than I am now. Instead of making an appointment to see him, I just withdrew emotionally, determined that never again would I take that kind of risk in church.
I'm not like that anymore. I am more outspoken and more inclined to take risks. I have found that the more I'm able to share, the more others are too.
The Bible tells us to comfort others with the comfort with which we've been given. I think that when we're open with how we're really feeling, bonds are created, comfort is given and received, and we become Jesus with skin on to those around us.
Sorry this is so long....