A friend of mine was in her Sunday school class when they broke up into small groups to work through some things from the lesson. They were provided with some questions, some of which were personal. And, if you were honest, they required a level of transparency.
My friend made a mistake. She answered honestly.
There are some things going on in her life she's struggling with and she told them. For the rest of the time, the other folks in the group spent their time trying to fix her. She didn't need to be fixed. She needed a safe place to tell her story.
We have a problem in the U.S. church. We don't allow people to deal honestly with pain.
If someone was running a bandsaw and got their finger too close to the blade, we would expect them to say, "OUCH!" We would probably even understand if their words were a little more gritty than we would normally be comfortable with.
But when the bandsaw rips into someone's soul, it's a different story. No matter your struggle, there's no room for gritty, because God works all things for the good of those who love him.
For some reason, when people are dealing with heartbreaking loss and suffering we hand out spiritual Prozac. It's hard to sit with them in it, so we quote some scriptural happy pills and move on.
The problem is it's not remotely scriptural. Christ was called a man of sorrows, acquainted with the deepest grief. There's a whole book called Lamentations. We're told to weep with those who weep.
It's hard. It will cost us something. And it is beautiful. It's one of the things the church has been called to do. Because no one should carry their burdens alone. And no one should be made to feel lesser because of the burdens they carry.
David was allowed to ask why God had forsaken him. Jesus was allowed to quote him. I don't think anyone ever wondered why they didn't have more faith. Why do we require more from each other?
My friend made a mistake. She answered honestly.
There are some things going on in her life she's struggling with and she told them. For the rest of the time, the other folks in the group spent their time trying to fix her. She didn't need to be fixed. She needed a safe place to tell her story.
We have a problem in the U.S. church. We don't allow people to deal honestly with pain.
If someone was running a bandsaw and got their finger too close to the blade, we would expect them to say, "OUCH!" We would probably even understand if their words were a little more gritty than we would normally be comfortable with.
But when the bandsaw rips into someone's soul, it's a different story. No matter your struggle, there's no room for gritty, because God works all things for the good of those who love him.
For some reason, when people are dealing with heartbreaking loss and suffering we hand out spiritual Prozac. It's hard to sit with them in it, so we quote some scriptural happy pills and move on.
The problem is it's not remotely scriptural. Christ was called a man of sorrows, acquainted with the deepest grief. There's a whole book called Lamentations. We're told to weep with those who weep.
It's hard. It will cost us something. And it is beautiful. It's one of the things the church has been called to do. Because no one should carry their burdens alone. And no one should be made to feel lesser because of the burdens they carry.
David was allowed to ask why God had forsaken him. Jesus was allowed to quote him. I don't think anyone ever wondered why they didn't have more faith. Why do we require more from each other?
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