A young friend wrote to me about a brother who has chosen life without God because he did not know how to reconcile a present disappointment with his previous expectations.
I gave the friend some reading
suggestions to prepare for the
conversations we can only hope will come.
I wrote,
"I'm sorry for your sadness and heartache, but God is not done with your brother yet. This may very well be the refining of his faith, making it more real than it could have ever been without this crisis of belief.
Our churches are not well equipped to handle him right now as his questions undermine the formulas and programs we've adopted in place of thinking."
When I realised what I had written, I sighed deeply and did not edit or delete my statement. It stands, generally, true and all too dangerous.
" . . . his questions undermine the formulas
and programs we've adopted in place of thinking."
Discipleship is my passion; for people to follow Jesus so closely that the dust from His sandals settles on their clothing. For people to know Jesus, and be known by Jesus, so they can also know hope, joy and the comfort that, though life is messy sometimes, God is in the mess with them.
Sometimes people are overwhelmed by the messes. Because we do not preach or teach about a God who understands messes, people then tend to think there's something wrong with them or their faith and . . . . they chuck it all out rather than sort it out.
If or when they ask questions, they are often hushed, criticised or ostracised.
Can our God, your God, not withstand some serious questioning?
If not, He's a pitifully small god and not likely to cope with complications, confusion and controversy.
There are no formulas that fit all the time. There are no placebos or clichés or comfortable solutions. There is only a God who is big enough, understanding enough, faithful enough and loving enough to be with me in my messes and love me through them to whatever is on the other side.
There is no formula. There is only relationship with He who knows and who can be known.
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