Jun. 25, 2006 - What do you make of suffering?
Here are some excerpts from an interview by Warren Smith of World Newspaper with Michael Card about the book of Lamentations. This article combined with the Psalm reading in church today (Ps. 107) really struck me that Christianity in America doesn't deal too well with suffering. And more specifically, *I* don't deal too well with suffering - mine nor others'.
"MC (Michael Card): And now I can see that lamentations are absolutely crucial. Most of the Psalms are laments. They’re not a part of our worship, not even lamenting for our own sins, as we are clearly told to do. People who are suffering, who are angry with God – we don’t make a place for them in our congregations. But clearly the Bible makes a place for them. The Bible gives them words. In general, we don’t understand how suffering works, and how God uses suffering. Or maybe we don’t want to understand. But it connects with evangelism, with missions, with who God is.
WS(Warren Smith): Given that, is it going too far to say that the evangelical church today, which ignores suffering and lamentations, is in danger of worshipping a false god?
MC: I don’t know if I would go so far as to say we worship a false god, but certainly an incomplete god. You could make a case that an incomplete god is a false god. And incomplete in one of God’s most essential attributes or qualities. God used suffering to save the world. When Adam and Eve got kicked out of the Garden of Eden, that’s when lament begins. If we don’t have that integrated into our understanding of God and into our worship and in how we live as Christians, we’re missing something important.
I have a friend who was in Jakarta. He came upon a Muslim man who lost his whole family [in the tsunami]. And my friend sits down and weeps with him. And the Muslim man says, “You must be a Christian.” My friend says he is. And the Muslim says, “I knew that because you were willing to weep with me.” That’s a huge thing. That real ministry.
The laments teach us that we take our confusion, our disappointment with God, our hurt, and our anger, and even our hatred, and we offer that to God as an act of worship....
God is raising missionaries from the Third World and sending them here. They know suffering, and the redemptive power that suffering has.
American Christianity, on the other hand, is all about getting fixed. It’s all about what can church, or God, do for me. That’s American Christianity. Power. Comfort. Healing. I want all my diseases healed. And, let’s face it, the Bible makes promises like that. Jesus says if you ask anything in my name. You can take all those verses and build what has been built by the prosperity gospel movement, which all of American Christianity has bought into, even those who roll their eyes at it. We still think God is here to make our lives better and to take suffering out of our lives, instead of bring meaning to the suffering that is in our lives....
But when you look at the Gospel, what do you see everyone do? Everyone lets go of power. Jesus, though he could have grasped equality with God, doesn’t do that. Peter, clearly the head of the church, becomes a missionary and disappears. They all let go. That’s the opposite of American Christianity. We have tactics and we strategize. And we think bigger is better. The Gospel almost tells us the opposite is true. That woundedness is where power comes from, the kind of power the Gospel talks about."
Comments
Jun. 25, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by CreativeHomeschooling
Thank you for posting on my blog regarding sugar. I need to check out that book, never heard it before. I too, went back and forth during the first few weeks of getting ds off sugar. But then it became so obvious that even small amounts affected his behavior that we went all the way. I feel bad for those couple years that we missed bonding and happy memories b/c he was always "on fire" and we did all we could do to put out the "fire".
Jennie von Eggers
www.TimesTales.com
www.CreativeHomeschooling.com
Jun. 26, 2006 - Thank you...
Posted by ourheartsathome
Thanks for your comment on my blog. The Lord is good to bring others to give encouragement. I have heard people say that once you master having two children it's easy from there on out. I have faith things will fall into place soon. We had a better day today with Daddy home/church/big family nap:) Our move in the new year will take us to the Washington/Greenville area. I hear great things about living in NC, so I am really looking forward to it. God bless you...Cindy
Jun. 27, 2006 - What a valuable interview.
Posted by REInvestor
Thanks for posting this. It is so true. I like his differentiation between God relieving our suffering and God bringing meaning to our suffering.
Jul. 15, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by humpty
Very thought-provoking. How is lamenting different from confession and repentance. Is it sorrow? I think my church is rare in that the church shares in the suffering of it's members. We have corporate and individual prayer for them and we cry together. We are encouraged to share where many churches want everyone to look good and smell good and never have any problems so that it will seem that God is blessing them (whatever their definition of God's blessing is.)
Feb. 3, 2008 - sandpaper boss
Posted by Anonymous
I have a boss who is using the office we work for to gain things for himself and family. I do not have respect for him but try and pray for him. Lately, it seems that I have a lot of sandpaper people bothering me for time and service. I just moved our youngest child into college and frankly, I am emotionally and physically tired. i need a break but it seems that God doesn't understand that
