Being a musician, I tend to view the world a bit differently. Somehow, everything in life I can trace back to or identify with in regards to musical terms and theory. Feel sorry for my wife, she's the one who has to put up with my oddities, and this is one of them.
I always say a quick blessing before I eat my meals. It's not to show off or be super religious, i just tend to want to thank God for every little thing that He provides for me, but I also struggle with this because I can be sitting at Panchero's thanking God for an amazing Pork Burrito, and on the television screen I'm viewing pictures of carnage and hopelessness from around the world. So in my mind I go that place where I say, "If God cares enough to provide this pork burrito, then doesn't He care infinitely more about Darfur, or the economy of the world?"
There has been a massive increase in what I call "Impersonal faith" that's become an epidemic in the church. We only care about God for what He can do for us, and we view Him as this distant being that stands at a distance and watches us. He's existent but not active, and every now and then He intercedes to give us what we want. That's totally false(again, my opinon and i could easily be wrong, I know that)! We've bought into a consumeristic view of God, and it's a belief that essentially states that "God is here to supply my wants." Do you hear how selfish and narrow that is?
To debunk that belief i think we need to start witha simple, yet profound question: Where is God?
When I think of God I picture a song, any song that's good. For this allegory, I'd like to picture "The Scientist" by Coldplay. It's a beautiful, moving song that has amazing lyrics, and more importantly, outstanding music. We see God in the scriptures as physical(see Jesus and all the references to hands and feet as well as the dove after Baptism). We see God in Spirit(See the Smoke by day and pillar of fire by night, as well as the day of Pentecost). So where is God?
I think God is everywhere. He is all around us. He's not here to be our persoanl maid service, nor is He here to give us our wildest fantasies. He is here and at work. He is carrying out His will 24/7 365. So if God is everywhere, then why is there so much sadness, and how come I don't get what i want most of the time? Easy-We're here because of God and for God, not the other way around.
God is always at work, the song is always being played. The question isn't "Can I hear my favorite song?" The question is: are you in tune with the song that God's playing. It's really strange because there are some people who claim to be experts on this song(Pastors, Theologians, Lifetime believers), and yet they can sound way out of tune with this song, and yet on the other end of the spectrum, there can be people who've never heard of the song and they seem to fit in beautifully with the rhythms, harmonies and intonation.
Everyone is playing the song, regardless of what their belief system is, the true test is, are you in tune?
Maybe you have this sense like you have no sort of relationship with God because of various reasons. These ideas you have about what that means, all these things that you've been told about what it looks like or what it doesn't look like to be a Christ follower. Maybe its too hard to wrap your head around the idea of an infinite, massive, invisible, loving God. It's still hard for me to get my head around. BUT-truth, compassion, mercy, love, grace, kindness-the way Jesus lived, I can see that. I can understand that and relate to that. I can play that song!
I have a dear friend, who does not follow Christ, but I will tell you this, she lives her life in such a way that speaks so much beauty and love to this world that I dare say, God smiles upon the way she lives her life. She's in tune with the song!!! I also have a friend who has been pastoring at a church for years, and his life doesn't fit into the song at all, it's way out of tune!!! I'm out of tune from time to time believe me:)
I just want you to be aware that when you realize that God is all aorund you, and the song is written on your heart, you can be in tune with what God is doing, and at that moment you can realize the fact that you are in relationship with the Living God.
(NOTE: Being in tune with God usually requires us to love one another unconditionally and not to judge people or view that as trophies we need to reach-it's about relationships!!!)
Thanks Rob Bell for some help on this blog;)
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Wow this is exactly what I was just discussing with somebody. Like five minutes before I read this. Haha you word it so much better than I can. Music is such a great analogy for it. Thank you.
ReplyDelete"He is carrying out His will 24/7 365. So if God is everywhere, then why is there so much sadness.... Easy-We're here because of God and for God, not the other way around."
ReplyDeleteI need more explanation on this. As a non believer the horrors of the world seem like a perfectly legit reasons not to believe. I've heard Christians say that everything is God's will and we just don't know the ultimate plan. In fact the church in which I was raised always prayed for the sick by starting with, "Lord if it be thy will..." Does that mean that God's will for some unlucky people is death? Are disease, malnutrition, and suffering all parts of "the plan"? That doesn't sound like the "God is love" kind of creator I hear preached about at other times. (I'm sure you can guess why no one looked forward to having me in their Bible class.) I'm sorry but I have to say that any plan involving a child dying a cancerous death is a pretty fucked up plan. (I don't go around dropping f bombs all day, but sometimes only a curse word will do.) I know, I know you learn from the trials and tribulations in your life and you become a better person... yadda, yadda. But not if you are dead or otherwise incapacitated by extreme suffering. I've heard Christians say that God doesn't intervene in those kinds of ways anymore, but why then do people keep praying for miracles? Sure pray for comfort and strength, but quit praying for a cure because as far as I know it just doesn't work that way. Insights?
I feel like I should offer a disclaimer to the rest of the people who might read my comments. I am a former Christian and while I do not believe in God I do not claim to have all the answers. I think people are fascinating....what they believe, what they do, all of it. I question everything, but I certainly never mean any disrespect. I'm just genuinely interested in how people reconcile these tough issues.
Michelle, it's so great that you feel you can share like you did. I admire that. Here is something my former Pastor wrote. I'd love to hear what you think.
ReplyDelete#1 - If God is so good and loving, why does He allow evil?
This is a flawed premise since it implies that we are in a position to say what is good and what is not good about God. We ourselves do not know what good is naturally, for we are not basically good. How then can we judge God?
Still, the question of evil persists, and we often hear the question "why?" in the aftermath of some tragedy. Remember, when God created the world, He created it perfect. That includes His creation of man. Yet, this "perfect" man was also given the freedom of choice, or an ability to choose. When Adam chose to disobey God, sin, death and suffering became an inevitable part of life. Romans 5:12 states, "When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned" (NLT). The evil in this world is a result of that original sin.
You may say, "Wait a minute, I didn't choose to sin. Adam did." Yet, the Bible teaches that we all have sinned (Romans 3:23). We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. We have a natural bent in us to do what is wrong. James 4:1 says that there is a "whole army of evil desires at war within you." At the same time, God gave us absolutes to live our lives by--standards that are found in the Bible. When we make choices that are contrary to those absolutes and standards, evil is the result.
C. S. Lewis put this question in proper perspective. He observed that it is idle for us to speculate about the origin of evil. The problem we all face is the fact of evil. The only solution to the fact of evil is God's solution, Jesus Christ [Paul Little, How to Give Away Your Faith (Downers Grove, Ill.; InterVarsity Press, 1966), p. 72]. Once you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you enter into the master plan that God has for you. For that reason, you can be assured of the promise in His Word, that "everything works together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them" (Romans 8:28 NLT). Sometimes what appears horribly evil and tragic can result in something good. Consider Joseph's assessment of his brother's wicked act of selling him into slavery. Understanding that God had allowed this to happen so that he could be a man of power in Egypt, Joseph said, "God turned to good what you [my brothers] meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people" (Genesis 50:20 NLT).
We may not always understand the "why's" of a certain tragedy, but we know the "Who" that will carry us through it. He promises, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God . . ." (Isaiah 43:2-3a NIV).
I can share a personal story of how God used a tragedy for good. In June, my best friend was diagnosed with melanoma when she was 27 weeks pregnant. At that time, it was stage III. It rapidly progressed to stage IV at 35 weeks in the pregnancy when labor was induced. She gave birth to her 1st child and immediately began treatment. The treatment didn't work, and she died on Dec. 3 leaving behind a 3 month old and husband. It's been tragic in so many ways, but in the light of that tragedy, God has allowed me to find some healing from anxiety. Because of this situation, I became close with another friend, and because of the friendship I've been able to examine myself and realize some things that needed to change. The changes have been an amazing transformation opening a lot of other doors to do things for others that I was afraid to do before. I finally feel alive, and I'm helping other people cope with the same problems I had been facing. So, in the midst of tragedy I've gained new friendships, fixed parts of me, gotten to know my friend's extended family a bit more, and I can do so much more than I felt I was able to do 4 months ago when I was sitting at my best friend's bedside saying goodbye.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, thank you, thank you, thank you for questioning. If people didn't question then we'd never grow and we'd never learn more about the people we do life with!!!
ReplyDeleteI must confess, I struggled a lot with this in the past year because of the death of my brother. He was 31 and left behind an awesome wife, and two adorable little girls. I had some really deep moments of anger and confusion towards God. I didn't understand how He could take Shane and leave this utter destruction behind. It seriously felt like a bomb went off and we were left to pick up the pieces, but I also saw the beauty in it.
Did I want Shane to die? Absolutely not. What would have happened had they revived him? Well, the doctors told us had he managed to come around he would have been a vegetable the rest of his life due to the lack of oxygen to his brain, and was that what Shane or any of us would have wanted? I can tell you , Amanda, his wife would have kept him alive as long as possible and it would have ruined her and her kids, not only broken in spirit, but also financially.
As a result, my brother passed-as we all do(Death and taxes, they say:)), and what was left is a remnant to remind me of how good of a man he was. I want to be the first person to admit that I don't have a lot of the answers of this world, that's why I'm trying to figure it all out, but I do know that God has comforted me through this.
I never read in the Bible where He absolutely promises us that it will be easy or that tragedy won't happen. I just read that He will be there, and that has beena huge comfort to me, but more than that, I think that there has to be evil in this world for us to recognize what is truly beautiful and heroic.
I don't think it is God's will for someone to die a cancerous death as a child, but I do believe it happens. Maybe cancer runs in the family, maybe there were pregnancy complications, and maybe it was a fluke, but I do know it happens, and I'm positive that God doesn't strike down or make it happen.
He moves independently from us, His actions are not in response to what we do, He acts according to His will(again-my opinion, I don't want to offend dear friend:)). We have free choice, and along with free choice comes the fact that responsibility for whatever happens isn't always God's desire or for that fact our own.
I agree that for the most part you hear people pray for miracles and cures, but I think t he more proper and somber prayer is that God's will be done, which is how God teaches us to pray in Matthew. We make it selfish, when we pray for what WE want.
Michelle, I don't have the perfect answer at all, all I have is these humble opinions, I hope they make a bit of sense, but I do want you to know that I loved your response:)
Thanks for sharing Christi. I guess I have heard all that before, but I don't personally believe that "everything works together for the good of those who love the Lord." I do belief in a karma of sorts in that quite often we do reap what we sow, but so much of life's tragedy is just stinking bad luck and bad things certainly happen to good people.
ReplyDeleteI think we do know what good is. Many of the world's religions share the same moral philosophies because for the most part we as humans can agree on the basic tenants of what is good and what is bad. I also choose to believe that most people are basically good so I have to disagree there as well.
Yes, often times good does come from tragedy, but not always. I completely see the point of your last paragraph as this is what I understand religion to be. Although I myself do not believe in such things, I get it when people pray for comfort or strength and I am happy that they have something to believe in that brings them comfort. I don't get it when people pray for answers or solutions. In my opinion you have to be the solution. God does not heal the sick, skilled doctors do. God does not feed the hungry, caring people do. So often I find myself wanting to say, quit praying and start doing!
Travis, I'm so sorry for the loss of your Brother. I can understand how it would make you mad, and have such a variety of emotions toward God. I watched my friend's family go through that. You CAN'T understand how a young Mother or Father can be taken from their families or how a young child can be diagnosed with cancer and suffer. I can't begin to claim that I understand that completely. I do know that when I see this world, I see something temporary. Something very flawed, something ruined by sin. Something that has tragically struck so many people who didn't deserve to suffer and die. We know 2 things for sure, we are born and we die. When the second part happens, we don't control no matter how hard we'd like to. We don't understand it when it happens to people we love. I don't fully understand why God allows the things He does, but I have to believe that He does know why He does. I also believe that He is loving and eternity will make up for what this world has lacked, what man made a mess of in the temptation of Satan's desire to rule and reign supreme.
ReplyDeleteThis song has been something that I've listened to over and over and over in the wake of the tragedy and loss of my best friend. In the face of another tragedy as an 11 year old girl faces her last days, weeks, or months after a 2.5 year battle with osteosarcoma. I listen as I know my husbands Aunt is fighting lymphoma, and as friends are struggling with many tragedies of their own. I don't get it, but I find my comfort seated in the arms of a loving God who promises to make it right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUzDOGzABSM&feature=related
Its amazing that all of this is exactly what I read in The Shack. Like you said Travis, the book was DRIPING with truth. I don't find myself knowledgable enough or wise enough to really comment on this, but I will just say that after reading that book and praying over certain tragedies that I (and my husband) have faced recently, I am at peace in knowing that God does not cause evil or sadness in the world. He turns our choices into his plans and creates good with them. We may not see it now, or ever. But God is Good. God is Love. And having faith in God is literally just taking a leap of faith into a lot of stuff that is just unknown, and just believing with your whole heart, even when things don't always add up. But at the same time, questioning and questioning over and over to get a better understanding is good for us all. Those who believe and those who don't.
ReplyDeleteKristin,
ReplyDeleteWOW!!!!
Great comment:)