Many of my readers are in high school or college and wondering, "Where should I go to college? What should I major in? What do I want to do in life? Will I be able to have a stable career with my degree? Will I be able to support myself in this economy?
Christians like to fall back onto the idea that "everything is going to turn out alright."
But is it? By being Christians are we void a life of suffering? Loneliness? Hurt? Poverty?
What we're really going to look at is
What promises has God given us about our earthly well-being? Will everything work out for the good? Is God going to take care of us?
While being a Christian doesn't guarantee success and hapiness with everything that's gonna happen in life, it gives you something to hope for. I know that God will never give me more than I can handle and with his help I can get through anything that Satan will throw at me. I never go onto anything thinking it'll be easy, but I always know that God will show me the way :) this post really made me think about a lot :D keep it up Jake!
ReplyDeleteokay..."everything turning out alright" and living a life void of suffering, loneliness, being hurt, and poverty are two completely different ballgames. you can't lump those two together. maybe you didn't mean to put it out that way, but at least for the sake of others reading this...some people are called to live with suffering (see Job...paraplegics...handicapped people...and those who live with the impoverished/are impoverished). God didn't let this happen to hurt them, but to change who they are spiritually and mentally...and who they might be, had they not that experience. hardship and the state of "suffering" is often the thing that brings us closer to Him. God does have our ultimate well being in mind, but that doesn't mean we won't go through difficulties. in the end, God has a plan for us, and He won't give us anything we can't handle.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much to be said about this topic, the entire bible is an example of God's promises that he cares about us and our "well being". But firstly, I want to touch on the uncertainty part. The christian life is essentially a life built on the work of Jesus Christ, He's the foundation on which all things must be built (Matthew 7:21-27). If that's not the case whatever is not built on Christ will ultimately fail and being imperfect as we are we inevitably experience those failures. Out of this is born our uncertainty, our innate distrust and fear of the future. Now, that's not to say that if your life is built on Christ your days will be without trials and troubles, quite the opposite. There is a lot that Jesus said about the cost of following him "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first...I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you" (John 15:18-19), and Peter wrote "There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine...so when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:6-7). "Since Christ suffered physical pain, you must...be ready to suffer, too. For if you have sufferfed physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God." (1 Peter 4:1-2). These are just a few examples of the suffering Christ has called us to; but to read this and think "well that's it if I follow Christ life is going to be miserable" is to completely miss the point of Jesus's entire life. These verses are speaking about a transformation that happens when we follow Christ: "I want your will to be done, not mine" (Matthew 26:39). This is a fundamental change that happens in our lives, we no longer seek to fulfill our own will and to follow our desires but we are born again IN Christ and therefore adopt His will and His desires as our own, and in this there is never uncertainty. The life described is filled with the Holy Spirit and all the benefits thereof, you know the fruits of the spirit and all that. So to say that being a christian guarantees our "well being" is not specific enough. To be identified with Christ in our everyday lives and to seek Him wholeheartedly and with discipline does not guarantee our materialistic well being, but it does guarantee our spiritual well being. Jesus assures us that we will have the fruits of the spirit as well as the peace and rest that comes with it, but only as we seek His will in our lives and not our own. This got really long really quick so I'll end with this verse "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find...which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone...if you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts...how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:7-11)
ReplyDeletea) This really is a great blog and I enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteb) I don't believe any one is void a life of suffering. I don't think that you are more deserving of suffering if you aren't a Christian as much as I don't believe you don't deserve suffering at all if you are. I believe that suffering is simply inevitable, however it's the suffering we encounter that makes us grow as people. We need it.
Of course everything is going to turn out alright eventually. No matter what happens there will be that light at the end of the tunnel. Life just comes in waves. Good times will happen, bad times will happen, and you need God to be with you during both.
does everything always turn out the way God wanted/intended?
ReplyDeletei can't help but think of the christian who flunks out of college and says 'well i guess it just wasn't Gods will for me to be there.' i'm pretty sure it wasn't his will for you to be a terrible steward of your education either.
thats kind of a branch off of your original question.
i like this quote by erwin mcmanus:
"Maybe we should say, It is not about you. Jesus Christ is worth dying for. He wants you to throw yourself at his feet and if it means a life of suffering, and hardship, and disappointment it is worth it. Cause it's more powerful, more fulfilling to follow Jesus Christ than to live a life with everything in this world without Christ. Have we forgotten that?"
The invisible man in the sky doesn't give two craps about us because he's fictional.
ReplyDeleteJake, where did this blog go? I miss the practice.
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