Going It Alone
WHEN CANCER COMES CALLING, I don’t know how anyone can make the journey without God. But I have a friend or two who try.
ONE FRIEND HAS LET SUFFERING, pain, and anger separate her from God. As if He hadn’t suffered or didn’t know pain. Still she blames Him. If He’s in charge, she says, He’s not doing a very good job—as if He’s the one making the mistakes, and the rest of us, including her, are blameless.
SHE POINTS OUT HUMANITY’S SORRY LOT and thinks she’s alone in her suffering, abandoned in her time of need. And who of us haven’t felt that way—with or without cancer? She shakes her fist at God and refuses to worship Him. I want to ask her Dr. Phil’s question, “How’s that working for you?”
SO WHY DO I THINK WORSHIP is the answer? Does God need to hear her praises? No. Not at all. Worship is a reminder that she is here for His good pleasure and not because she deserves to be here. (If merit had anything to do with it, I wouldn’t have made it past my eighth birthday. That was when I discovered boys, and it was downhill after that.)
SHE MAINTAINS CHRISTIANS are hypocrites. Well, of course we’re hypocrites--with the best of intentions perhaps, but hypocrites nonetheless. The problem is she’s looking at the sheep and not the Shepherd. Christians can’t stand up to the ideal she expects of us. Even with the best of intentions, we all pave our way to error.
MY RESPONSE TO HER? Get real. Church is a hospital for sinners, a refuge for fellow sufferers. It’s a means for us to offer a little comfort to each other as we stumble along together. Attending church is a sign we need help, not a sign we’ve figured everything out!
BESIDES, I like the music.
You’re blessed! Be a blessing.
ONE FRIEND HAS LET SUFFERING, pain, and anger separate her from God. As if He hadn’t suffered or didn’t know pain. Still she blames Him. If He’s in charge, she says, He’s not doing a very good job—as if He’s the one making the mistakes, and the rest of us, including her, are blameless.
SHE POINTS OUT HUMANITY’S SORRY LOT and thinks she’s alone in her suffering, abandoned in her time of need. And who of us haven’t felt that way—with or without cancer? She shakes her fist at God and refuses to worship Him. I want to ask her Dr. Phil’s question, “How’s that working for you?”
SO WHY DO I THINK WORSHIP is the answer? Does God need to hear her praises? No. Not at all. Worship is a reminder that she is here for His good pleasure and not because she deserves to be here. (If merit had anything to do with it, I wouldn’t have made it past my eighth birthday. That was when I discovered boys, and it was downhill after that.)
SHE MAINTAINS CHRISTIANS are hypocrites. Well, of course we’re hypocrites--with the best of intentions perhaps, but hypocrites nonetheless. The problem is she’s looking at the sheep and not the Shepherd. Christians can’t stand up to the ideal she expects of us. Even with the best of intentions, we all pave our way to error. MY RESPONSE TO HER? Get real. Church is a hospital for sinners, a refuge for fellow sufferers. It’s a means for us to offer a little comfort to each other as we stumble along together. Attending church is a sign we need help, not a sign we’ve figured everything out!
BESIDES, I like the music.
You’re blessed! Be a blessing.
posted by Chronic Hope at 1:58 PM
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