Tough Questions

This past weekend I led three sessions at our Senior High Ski Retreat.  Our focus was on John 11:17-44 where Jesus comes and raises Lazarus from the dead.

At first we asked the question, "Why does God let bad stuff happen?"  If God is all-knowing, all-powerful and loving, why does he allow bad things to happen to us?  Jesus weeps for his friends.  He has compassion on them.  Maybe Jesus weeps because the people just don't get who he is and what he's capable of.  Maybe he cries because of the compassion he has for his friends who are hurting so much.  And maybe he cries because he knows humanity was never meant to experience something so painful when he created them.  But consistently throughout the Bible when people cry out to God he hears them.

In our second session we asked, "Is it okay to be angry at God?"  Martha and Mary both say to Jesus, "If you had been here our brother wouldn't have died."  They question where Jesus was when they sent for him.  Jesus intentionally comes to the scene too late.  It's tough to understand what God is doing especially when you're in the middle of a tough situation.  Others in the Bible like Job and David got mad at God and told him about it.  God wants a genuine relationship with us and sometimes that means pouring out our emotions.  He can handle it.

Lastly we looked at Martha's response.  After questioning Jesus she simply states that even now she believes Jesus can do something.  Ultimately the glory of God is displayed in the situation.  Lazarus is raised to life.  Because that's what God is about.  Bringing life to situations where all we see is death.  We have to have faith that God will show up at the right time, whether it's in our timing or not.

Asking these questions is not easy.  Many of my friends are going through really hard stuff in their lives. I don't blame them when they're upset with God.  I can't imagine what it's like to wrestle with some of the issues of broken relationships with friends and family or sickness with loved ones or even death.  But I believe God wants to display his glory through our tough times.  And I have to believe that in the end God will bring us to true life without the death that we see now.

Story

I love a good story.  When I was younger I started reading the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and often found myself day dreaming about life in Narnia.  I was captivated by those stories of kings and queens and talking animals and of the great lion, Aslan.  I also loved reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.  These incredible stories of good triumphing over evil were captivating to me.  What is it about a good story that we just lose ourselves in?  

Recently I finished reading “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” by Donald Miller.  In his book, Miller talks about what makes a story great.  He discusses that what makes a story great is also what makes a life great.  He talks about character development and how we deal with the problems we face.  Life isn’t easy all of the time.  In fact Miller writes that if the story doesn’t have some kind of problem to overcome it won’t be a great story.  Perhaps that’s why these stories are my favorites; because the characters face seemingly impossible situations which they overcome by the help of some good force.

My question is “What kind of story am I telling with my life?”  Is my story compelling?  Do I overcome the obstacles I face and develop my character?  Would anyone be interested in my story or is it boring?  We tell stories with our lives.  Sometimes we tell great stories and other times our stories are more of a tragedy.  Both Lewis and Tolkein knew the great Good that lies behind life and bore witness to it in their stories.  Will we bear witness in the stories that we will tell with our lives?  Will our stories be compelling to others?  Will we allow God to develop our character through His grand story?  So go read a good book and go tell a better story.

Is He serious?

This past weekend I had the privilege of presiding over my brother, Aaron, and his wife, Angela's, wedding.  It was an honor to be a part of their beautiful ceremony.  It will be a great memory for me too because it was the first wedding I've performed.

All that to say I was at my parents' church this past Sunday where my dad is the senior pastor (so this is life a little outside the Grove now).  He preached on a section of Scripture from John 6 where Jesus has just told his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood.  Many of the disciples can't take this teaching and turn away.  Jesus doesn't stop them from leaving, but, instead, gives them a choice.  The main point of the message is what do we do with these hard teachings of Jesus, and there are many.  If we take Jesus seriously and believe that we are to put his teachings into practice, what does that look like?

I believe whole heartedly that we are to take the teachings of Jesus literally.  It has implications for our spiritual life, but more than that.  First of all I think the idea that part of life is spiritual and part is, well, not spiritual is a modern concept not a biblical one.  For Jesus, every part of who he was was spiritual.  Unfortunately we tend to turn everything into talk about our "spiritual life".  When we see the teachings about taking up your cross we talk about our cross being a sickness or relationship struggle or something else.  John Howard Yoder points out that the cross was something Jesus willingly chose and was the result of his moral stand against the powers and authorities in his world.  It was not something that was a surprise.  Taking Jesus seriously means living in radical obedience to Christ.  Radical obedience to Christ means that sometimes the powers and authorities of this age may persecute you and you may end up dead.

I'm also beginning more and more to think that I also need to take the Bible seriously when it says I am to live as a stranger and alien.  That my life as a literal citizen of the kingdom of God is to be literally different from those who are citizens of the kingdom of (fill in any country).  I could be wrong about all of this, but I am finding that Jesus was a revolutionary who told us to make disciples who follow and obey him.  He practiced radical love.  And I am learning what it means to take Jesus literally and seriously.

Thanks Dad!
Dad's sermon