Why is the world so screwed up? Is it God's fault?

This is a complicated question. There are lots of layers both in understanding what the Bible says God's perspective is on this subject, and then also how God's perspective impacts the people who are experiencing the brokenness of the world. Here's one effort to offer a simplified explanation of how to think about this:

1. God is love.
2. God made the world and filled it with people that He wanted to love to have love Him back.
3. Love requires free will. If you can't choose, or you are forced to choose, it's not love.
4. Human beings have used their free will to do evil:  to themselves, to other people, and to the world.
5. The good people and the good world have been vandalized and corrupted by the evil things people have done.
6. The evil things people have done has taken control of the world and become almost a ruling power in and of itself, being further propagated in the world. 
7. God loves and cares so much that He has consistently acted to re-engage with the world that has banished Him, to rescue people from the power of evil, and to renew them so that they can fix what has been vandalized and corrupted.
8. God loves and cares so much that He actually entered into the world in Jesus to be a human strong enough to overcome the power of evil in the world. 
9. God and cares so much that He entered into our broken world and experienced the full evil of the world and of people in His suffering on the cross. His suffering was Him taking on the consequences of the evil of people. He did this to bring forgiveness from God for the evil the we do, and to bring power into the world so that other people could receive that power and overcome it in their own lives. His resurrection shows that He is stronger than the world's evil. When we believe and follow Jesus, we receive His power. Overcoming evil in our lives means having the strength to endure the evil and brokenness of the world in our own personal lives and to be able to respond to it all with grace, understanding, love, and the strength to show others a better way.

Christmas is a chance to celebrate that we have a God who didn't destroy evil people from up in heaven, but He came into the world to rescue and renew it.

If God Makes All These Promises, Then Why Is My Life This Way?

All of us have things in life that we want. Some of them even seem to line up with things that God says are good:  Ability to provide for our needs through work, Have meaningful companionship, Get married, Have children, Feel like our lives matter, etc.

God hasn't promised we'll be married or have children or that other people will change the way we want them to... Even when we read stories of conception and child birth to the barren (like Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 15-21), it doesn't mean that God promises to make that happen for everyone. So what promises does God make to us? Here are just a few:

God promises to forgive us for the things we do that drive wedges between us and Him and that make us people who bring decay to others (1John 1:9-11).

God promises to be with us always--in us and with us through His Spirit (Romans 8:11-15).

God promises to work all things together for good if we love Him (Romans 8:28).

God promises to complete the work He begins in us when we first believe in Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

God promises not to tempt us beyond what we can handle (1Corinthians 10:13). 

God promises to strengthen us so that we can make other people better (Romans 15:14).

This is just the beginning of the promises that are made by God to His children. Admittedly, some of God's promises are not pleasant, but painful. God promises that we will have conflict in the world and we will be persecuted (2Timothy 3:12). The point is that when we see the specifics of God's promises, it should change our expectations. We can trust God's promises to be true and to come true. Outside of that, the Bible teaches us that we live in a broken world that is frustrating. Sometimes that brokenness comes from outside of us, sometimes that brokenness comes from within. Sometimes the brokenness is unintended results, sometimes there is intentional evil behind the brokenness. Sometimes the brokenness comes from things outside us, sometimes, it comes from within us. The promises of God are true and come true in the midst of our broken world and lives. This is what creates the tension of celebrating God's promises, while continuing to frustratingly endure the brokenness.  

When we see what God actually promises, it radically adjusts our expectations. It helps us to see God more clearly in our lives because we stop looking for Him in things He hasn’t promised. Then, we begin to see Him where in the promises He has made. This often takes real grieving—I have so often in my life been confronted that some things in my life may never get better, and so I’ve had to sorrowfully grieve and let go of those expectations. It’s frustrating and confusing and painful, but after it’s done, life for me is better, because I don’t have that rain cloud of disappointment hanging over me. Plus, seeing God at work where He has promised brings a joy and contentment because I feel like I'm finally on the same page with what He is doing in my life.

The Purpose of the Sabbath

There are several purposes to the Sabbath:

1. To rest and recover from the week
2. To devote yourself to God in corporate worship and have an excuse to seek Him personally (ex: I normally don't have time to spend studying a subject or topic, but on Sundays I can)
3. To remember that your salvation is based on Jesus' work, not yours. 
4. To remember that time isn't an endless cycle of days, but it's a weekly cycle that is heading for New Heavens and Earth. We're heading for God's presence-filled new world, so we want to do the things that give us tastes of that world to come.
5. To remember that we're not slaves to our work/job. God will provide for us and others even if we stop working on one day. 

Sometimes it's good to keep it simple (don't do your primary job(s) and worship God). Other times it's awesome to remember that God's ways go very deep and are far-reaching in their implications.

Christianity and Buddhism

I've been thinking lately about the differences between Christianity and Buddhism. There's a very different goal in both. 

Buddhism is aiming for a disembodied spirituality, completely separated from the physical world. But Christianity aims for a fully-embodied spirituality, completely uniting the body and soul. 

Both Creation and the bodily resurrection of Jesus show the goodness and the "redeemableness" and the eternality of the physical world. Anyone who loves anything in this world: sunsets, mountains, oceans, music, food, beer, sex, a friendly hug--all of this is physical and we love it all because we are by nature body and soul. 

Buddhism's disembodied spirituality tells us that all of these things are either illusions or they are weaknesses/immaturity that we have to learn to overcome. But the resurrection of Jesus explains why we love these things so much because they are part of the goodness of God's physical world and a fully-embodied spirituality.

What Is Fathering?

Fathering is LOVING AUTHORITY.  Loving authority.

I think that sums up everything the Bible says about what is means to be a father—both earthly and heavenly.

God is a Heavenly Father:  in authority over His children. He is in charge. 

BUT, God’s authority is loving.  This means that God uses every ounce of His authority to SERVE.  This is what he does.  God doesn’t use His authority to serve Himself, but to serve us.  His instruction isn’t an effort to control us, but to show us the way to experience the greatest life we could possibly live.  God’s actions are always geared toward saving, rescuing, nurturing, defending, protecting His people.  Even the wrath of God is a reflection of God protecting his children from their (and His) enemies.  God is in charge, and uses all of His in-charge-ness to serve.

What’s the ultimate proof of this?  Jesus!  Jesus came as God the Son, and yet Jesus is the revelation of the Father (John 14:8-9; Colossians 1:15). 

As Jesus shows us the Father, we see that Jesus is LOVING AUTHORITY.  Jesus said, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  ⁴³ But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,  ⁴⁴ and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.  ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many“(Mark 10:42-45).  Even Jesus’ Lordship is described as Loving Authority.  This is what it means to have God as Father.  You live under His LOVING AUTHORITY.

Earthly Fathers were intended by God to image their Heavenly Father.  God has designed earthly fathering to be REFLECTIVE and TRANSITIONAL. 

Reflective means that earthly fathers are supposed to be reflections of God’s fathering.  Everything I said above about God’s fathering should characterize earthly fathering.  Yes they have authority.  But they are to use their authority to serve their children.  If an earthly father is using his authority to serve himself, this is an abominable corruption of God’s intention.  Earthly fathers are to be like mirrors of God’s loving authority.  They are to be like windows, where God’s Spirit shines through their words and actions. 

Transitional means that earthly fathers have a diminishing authority over their children as they get older.  This is an important reminder that the goal of earthly fathering is to so image Heavenly Fathering, that children would see, experience, know, and love their Heavenly Father.  As children grow up, an earthly father transitions:

                FROM:  standing in between his child and God, reflecting God’s loving authority, and interceding for them through prayer, nurture, and loving instruction.

                TO:  taking his place alongside his child, together looking up and experiencing God’s loving authority as brothers and sisters.

This brings both humility and a sense of stewardship to earthly fathering.  Humility because the earthly father knows that he too is under God’s authority.  Stewardship because he realizes that his child is ultimately God’s child and so he is caring for a child of God.

This is what fathering is in the heavenly and earthly senses.

I would say that in our world, where we all fight against our own weaknesses, we recognize that there is no perfect earthly father.  There has never been a perfect earthly father.  Jesus was never an earthly father, though He did perfectly express loving authority.  With all human efforts, we must make room for the need for God’s grace and forgiveness.  If we think about the Biblical standard of earthly fathering improperly, many might toss it out as impossible.  We need God’s grace, and we need to show grace to earthly fathers who all fall short of the standard of reflecting God’s fathering.   

Having said that, I also believe that parenting is covenantal, not simply biological.  We see this clearly in a positive sense with adoption.  In adoption, parents make covenants, legally obligating themselves as their bring children in as real members of their family.

I think the reverse is also true when it comes to parenting.  If parents are guilty of egregious abuse that violates the covenant they make to care for their children, then I think that a child can recognize that and, with great grief and lamentation, separate from his or her parents.  I believe that it’s important to forgive abusive parents, but God doesn’t tell us that children have to keep letting their parents abuse them.  This takes wisdom and (I would recommend) the counsel of pastors and elders to help people navigate these issues.

How to Deal with Pain from Others

How do I get people to stop hurting me?
How do I forget the pain that they caused me?

Here's the bad news:  It's not possible to get people to stop hurting you.  It's also not possible to forget that pain.

But it is possible to handle the pain, and even to know God better through the pain.  Here's how:

1.  You have to be open and honest about the pain and damage that the person or people cause you.
2.  You need to go to the cross of Jesus, because there you find someone who shows us how to respond when someone hurts you.
3.  You will probably not be able to handle this process completely by yourself, so you'll need to either go to the person that hurt you, and/or include a trusted friend who can help you do steps 1 and 2.

The real power and healing in this process comes when you see that Jesus is so much more than just an example to follow.  The cross is the place where he suffered for the sins of the world.  That includes my sin.  It was partially because of my sin that Jesus was on the cross.  When he gave his life, he wasn't just being a good example for me, he was actually saving me.  He was there because he was committed to dealing with the pain that my sin has caused him.  For the times when I've ignored him and rebelled against him.  He died for me!

When I make this connection, I feel like I tap into his inexhaustible love--love that knows no bounds--love that is immeasurable in its height and depth and breadth and length.  This is what gives me the love and grace to not be controlled by the sorrow or the anger that comes from inside me.  It also gives me the ability to respond in love to those who hurt me.

But we often can't do this alone.  We need to tell the story of our hurt--either to the person who hurt us, or to others close to us.  As we tell the story of our hurt with people--especially people who can bring us to the Jesus who was broken and poured out for us, it will help us to understand his purpose in our suffering.

It'll show us personally Jesus' victory over sin and evil.  We'll see more of God's presence and God's culture on earth when we are able to not forget the hurt, but to forgive it.  I've always loved the definition of forgiveness that says, "I'm not going to make you pay for what you've done." (Now understand, I may not let you do this to me again, but I'm not going to lash out or extract a pound of flesh for you in my suffering).  This truly unites us to the sufferings of Christ and it shows us how Jesus' forgiving love overcomes evil and sin.

May Jesus minister to you in your pain, may you know more intimately the painful price that he rejoiced to pay to show you his love, and may Jesus give you the community you need so you're not alone as you process the pain when it comes.

How the Bible Can Help You in Your Grief

The Bible affirms grieving
This is an important place to start because many people in the church wonder if grieving is in some way a lack of faith in God. So it’s a good place to start to show that the Bible does affirm and even encourage grief in the midst of suffering.

Job 3—One of the most righteous of all God’s people mourns in grief and spends an entire chapter of the Bible cursing the day he was born, wishing he had never lived. This helps people to have permission to grieve—even the most godly people grieve.

Psalm 88—This is the most gut-wrenching Psalm in the Bible. It ends with the Psalmist still in despair. This again creates room. By inspiring this Psalm, God taught his people to grieve and to acknowledge real grief without simplistic answers.

Psalm 44—This Psalm acknowledges the reality that people who have experienced the blessings of God can experience such hardship and suffering in life that it feels like they have been abandoned by God.

In the Gospel, God joins us in our grief
Psalm 22—This Psalm becomes one of the most powerful Psalms for those grieving when we understand that Jesus quoted this Psalm while he was on the cross (Matthew 27:46). Reading this Psalm in that light helps us understand how the gospel begins to speak to the grief and mourning and depression we feel when we suffer. God cares so much about our suffering that he entered into it himself. He isn’t absent from suffering, but entered into it on the cross, so that he could pass through suffering and into the hope of resurrection. Jesus’ work on the cross shows us that God is with us in our suffering and he will lead us through it.

God’s Presence and Promises give us hope in our grief
Psalm 23—This Psalm’s powerful image of God being our shepherd comes near to us in grief where it says in verse 4—“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” This promise is most clearly seen on the cross, and it demonstrates that since Jesus had entered into the worst death for us, he’ll surely be with us in all of our suffering.

Psalm 13—This is a brief expression of how the gospel can meet us in our suffering and bring us back to God. In the midst of the Psalmist’s grief, he throws himself back on God’s steadfast love, and finds comfort and hope in the midst of his suffering.

Christians have hope in the midst of grief
1Thessalonians 4:13—This is a new testament passage that differentiates the way that Christians grieve. It affirms that Christians do in fact grieve. It’s not human to live above grief—it’s a part of the human experience. But, Christians grieve as those who have hope in God who will reverse death and bring about the restoration of all things.

The Gospel transforms grief into opportunity
2Corinthians 1:8-11—Here the apostle Paul describes the reality of dealing with suffering. He was “burdened beyond his own strength,” he “despaired of life itself,” and he “felt the sentence of death.” This is a great acknowledgement of the reality of suffering, even for the most mature of God’s people. He also acknowledges his desperate need for others to pray for him, so that God’s power would bring about good through his suffering.

2Corinthians 1:3-7—Here the apostle Paul shares the remarkable conclusion that he has come to about his own suffering. He has suffered in prolonged, extreme, and repeated ways both physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Yet, God has comforted him in his suffering SO THAT he might be able to comfort others who are suffering. This brings remarkable hope not only that God can comfort us, but that he will do more than that. As God brings us comfort, he will use us to be able to comfort others who have no hope in their suffering.

Questions:
Do you feel like you have permission to grieve?
Have you been able to experience God’s presence in the midst of your grief?
Do you experience hope in the midst of your grief?