Suffering...?

The following was written by my friend Kate several months ago. I only just read it and it so affected me, I wanted to re-post it.

I would like to take a crack at something. I have been thinking a lot about the basic philosophies of Christianity. The issue of suffering is a huge one. How many times have we heard someone say that they could not believe in God because of suffering in the world? I don't know if there is ever an adequate philosophical response to this question, but I wanted to share some thoughts.

A lot of people blame suffering in the world on God, and conceivably so since he could stop all of it. Makes sense. So what if God took away suffering? What would that look like?
We have to agree that while suffering is universal, the definition of what constitutes as suffering is not.
Picture a room, and in it, we will put those who suffer:

A woman raped.
A young girl who did not get the lead in the school play.
A wealthy socialite with a chemical peel gone wrong.
A man that loves a woman that does not love him.
A child whose hands have been cut off.
A woman who’s husband was shot in front of her.
A child who did not receive a toy they wanted.
A man who lost his job and has a family to feed.
A man who lost his job, but has no family.

We may scoff at the woman and her chemical peel, but could you blame the child with no hands not understanding why a man who lost his job was in the room with him? Is it ridiculous for the rape victim to roll her eyes at the tearful cries of a man unloved?
The girl that did not get the lead in the school play may feel shame; self hatred; anger; bittnerness- and feel them quite hotly. We can say she is young and immature in what causes her suffering, but it does not change the fact that her response is, indeed, suffering (and also that we are arrogant for believing that our vantage point of what constitutes as suffering is the ultimate authority).
Does the acknowledgement of sex slavery in the world lead you to cry less when someone has broken your heart? Probably not.
So. If God was good, then there would be no suffering. But that means no suffering, of any kind.
I think a response to this would be the idea that there should not be rape, or AIDS, or cancer or murder, the ‘tragic sufferings’ maybe.
But let’s say those things did not exist. But if we could still feel pain, there would simply be different scale of sufferings.
Imagine a world where the only health problems anyone ever had was the common cold. That’s it. No other diseases.
People would say that if there was a God, he would not allow people to have colds. The indignity of nose blowing and the harrowing torture of a sore throat would cause people to question his existence and goodness. People would lose their faith after catching a cold, or perhaps find God in the midst of their sickness, needing Something to comfort them in their distress and anguish.
We think that is silly only because we know the range of suffering pertaining to health. If the range was a cold only, it would be the worst thing in the world. And we would be right back where we started.

Let’s continue with this line of thought.
A world with only colds. No rape or murder, no adultery, or stealing.
So now, in this new world where all extreme suffering is removed- we would have new extreme sufferings.
People would be atheists because they could not believe in a God that allowed broken nails; bad break ups; boring jobs.
Philosophers would write books on the spiritual cruelty of acne and bad hair. They could not accept a God that did not make all of creation aesthetically pleasing. Ugly people means an ugly God.
Again, these things seem petty (maybe) to us only because we understand the spectrum of suffering.

So, all suffering would have to be erased. And not only would God have to take away the things that make us suffer, but he would have to take away our very faculties that process suffering.
We would either all have to get what we want, or not be able to process pain of any kind. One is not possible, because what we want often hurts other people, so two could be the only logical conclusion.
So the following words would be incomprehensible to us: worry; anxiety; pain; fear; abandonment; rejection; neglect; hurt; anguish; misery; annoyance; disturbance; etc.

Without those words, or the ability to understand what they refer to, the following words are also meaningless- happy; joy; love; kindness; forgiveness; gratitude; contentment; ecstatic; delight; acceptance.

Without suffering, of any and all kind, we also would not be happy. We would have no concept of the word.

So I wonder a few things.
I wonder if God has saved us from suffering even more greatly than we can imagine.

The same way we laugh at a world that dismisses God based not getting parking spots or coveted jobs, is there another world that would laugh at our suffering of rape and genocide as petty?

I can think of nothing worse than being strapped to a bed and raped. But I wonder if God’s response to that would be: “There was the possibility of me creating a world where men could literally rip out your essence, eat it, and you would be trapped in their body for the rest of your life.”

Again, ridiculous. As ridiculous as American missionaries explaining video games to south American natives. Just because it is incomprehensible does not mean it could not be true. That would be putting ultimate authority in our cognitive faculties, which is a little arrogant. If God is blamed for all disasters, I wonder if there are disasters he has kept us from?

There is one suffering we know exists, that only one Man felt. When Christ was in the garden, and on the cross, He was completely cut off from God. It hurts when we lose relationships with those we cherish, even if we may have only known the person for a few months.

But what of the pain of losing our spouse of 50 years?

Christ (going on the assumption that he was who he said he was) lost the companionship of God that he had had for all eternity. He felt cosmic abandonment. Intense. Intense enough for him to cry out “Llama sabachthani” My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?

When I hear stories of Christian martyrs, it strikes me that they died more bravely and perhaps seemingly more faithful deaths than of Christ. I can only image that Christ’s sufferings went far beyond the physical, into another spiritual realm that I can only think of as science fiction.

But I think we can all admit that at least some of our sufferings have produced good in our life, in the form of character; patience; grace; etc. So if we can see some good coming from suffering and evil, isn’t it possible that God can see good coming out of all?

I’ve gotten to spend time with my one year old godson, Ethan Key, quite a bit in the past few months. When I do not let him play with the light socket, he suffers and screams, even if I explain the law of electric transference and death. When Beth (his hot mama) leaves the room, no matter how logically I clarify the idea of showers and imminent return, he will not be comforted. He feels suffering. I can’t alleviate that. And as he gets older, he will continue to suffer when Beth and Nate do not allow him to steal other children’s toys or pull their hair, he will suffer when he is not allowed to play in the street or after dark, he will feel anguish when Nate doesn’t let him start driving at 14, when he has to do homework and chores, when he is not allowed to marry the great love of his life at 15, or stay out all night. He will suffer and not understand and be a better man for it. But he won’t comprehend that until later.

Is it possible that we are just as blind? Just as young and immature in Gods eyes?

I suppose I am comforted that the justice I desperately want on this earth is not pointless, it is promised in the form of heaven. That the heaven Christ talks of is not just one of consolation, but of restoration.

Last random thought: maybe we feel pain because God does. Not just Christ, we know he suffered. But God, in the Old Testament, suffered. Pain and suffering exist in God’s realm just as much as this one. God is not separate and detached from our pain, it is found in Him. We are made in his image, and that may be somewhat physical, but it seems primarily emotional to me. God feels hurt; abandonment; rejection; pain. The Christian faith is that of the God Who Suffers. God was so moved by our pain, that he sent Himself to take it on. It did not alleviate all of our pains here on earth, but Christ’s sufferings and his desire to be with us, can help us suffer well and come out of it stronger and wiser. And if our sufferings lead to death- our desire for what we want on earth, is now found in the hope of resurrection and heaven.

Wise Words from John Piper

I was searching for John Piper's thoughts on a certain topic and found this article...SO helpful, encouraging, and 'in-your-face'. =)

1.2. Forsaking Wicked Ways and Thoughts

To seek the Lord means to forsake wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts (v. 7).

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.

If you take seriously the positive side of seeking God, you have to take seriously the negative side of turning from behaviors and thoughts that offend him. You cannot seek God and practice sin or plan sin at the same time.

If you call out to God, "O God, I need you, help me!" one of the very first things that will happen in answer to that prayer is that God will awaken your conscience to something in your life that needs to be forsaken. If God answers your call in that way and you refuse to forsake what your conscience condemns, then you cease to seek God, and your words become empty (as in Isaiah 58:1-2). You can't seek God where he is not found, in sin.

It would be like a man who leaves his wife, moves into his own apartment, has a regular sexual affair alongside his marriage, and then gets on the phone and "calls" his wife and "seeks" his wife. And she says, "Have you forsaken this woman?" And he says, "No, I can't." Then she will rightly say, "Then you are not seeking me. Your call is empty. You will seek me and find me as your wife when you forsake her and all others for me alone, just like you vowed!"

Seeking the Lord means forsaking the ways and the thoughts that are displeasing and dishonoring to him. You can't seek him where his is not found—in sin.

Now lets look back through the book of Isaiah to see what else it means to seek the Lord.

MISSION: SANTO DOMINGO!

So I will make this as brief as possible, because I've learned that if I try to do a "series" of posts...it never gets finished. :-P

I spent 10 days in Santo Domingo, D.R. at the end of July this year. Most of the people on my team, including my team leader, were from our newest adoption into Sovereign Grace: Riverside Christian Fellowship, in Fort Lauderdale. The rest of us were reppin' Titusville, Niceville, Daytona, and Orlando. =)

The first few days were spent getting to know the Iglesia Cristiana Oasis people, attending their church service, and meeting/getting to know our host families. I roomed with a girl named Ruthie (from Niceville) and we stayed with Yuris and Gabriel, who have 2 daughters: Cynthia and Elizabeth. They are SUCH a nice family, who just opened their home to us and served us heroically through out the 7 days we stayed with them.

This picture is of Alyssa (from Fort L) and me

when we were both starting to get sick. :-( We were in the vans getting ready to head out to Memizo (I think). Alyssa got severely sick and

had unconfirmed Dengue. I woke up with a fever on Thursday, but since Yuris is a doctor, she took me to a clinic to have a blood test taken...which showed that I tested positive for Dengue Fever. Blehhh. It was no fun, but I was SO grateful that the fever itself didn't last more than a day for me, as some of the others who caught this lovely fever were 'down for the count'...for half, if not most of, the trip. Satan was definitely trying to distract us from our purpose there, and break up the unity that the Holy Spirit was building between all of us. But God was kind to make us all spiritually strong, and I didn't hear complaints from any of the team on this trip, and our team was unified in a way that could only have been done by the Holy Spirit. What a blessing to look back and see that, despite the Enemy's efforts to ruin our trip, we were STILL able to go to the villages we had planned, Adam gave more messages than planned, and

our team was knitted together with the hearts of those in the Santo Domingo church. We shared the Gospel, going door-to-door in poor villages, where people ONLY spoke either Creole or Spanish...I speak neither. And yet, through translation, and even hearing the Word of God spoken in a different language, my heart was filled with joy at this amazing opportunity!

This is a picture of some adorable girls that attend one of the schools we visited. We performed a puppet show...in spanish, sang songs...in spanish, played with chalk and painted nails...in sp...j/k. The kids were SO patient and SO much fun to interact with! The time flew by SO fast here. During this time, all the girls on the team kept all the girls in the school to paint their fingernails and toenails and take pictures with them, while the guys on our team took the boys in the school to play basketball, and they later came back to play with chalk. It was a BLAST!

That's all the pictures I'm going to post because it's too difficult to format the pictures on this blog...=P But if you want to see more, check out the 2 albums of pics on my Facebook page!

Overall, our team was blessed beyond expectation. I personally was stretched beyond what I had planned *smile*, and God moved in ways none of us could have imagined! I'm SO glad I was able to go on this trip, and that I was able to make new friends in the D.R. AND in the states! =)

Assurance...Valley of Vision

I think God's trying to remind me of something. He keeps directing me to verses in the Bible about 'keeping the faith' and resting in the 'assurance' I have in Him...and then I saw this:

Almighty God,

I am loved with everlasting love,
clothed in eternal righteousness,
my peace flowing like a river,
my comforts many and large,
my joy and triumph unutterable,
my soul lively with a knowledge of salvation,
my sense of justification unclouded.

I have scarce anything to pray for;
Jesus smiles upon my soul as a ray of heaven
and my supplications are swallowed up in praise.

How sweet is the glorious doctrine of election
when based upon thy Word
and wrought inwardly within the soul!

I bless thee that thou wilt keep the sinner
thou hast loved,
and hast engaged that he will not forsake thee,
else I would never get to heaven.

I wrong the work of grace in my heart
if I deny my new nature and my eternal life.

If Jesus were not my righteousness and redemption,
I would sink into nethermost hell
by my misdoings, shortcomings, unbelief, unlove;

If Jesus were not by the power of his Spirit
my sanctification,
there is no sin I should not commit.

O when shall I have his mind!
when shall I be conformed to his image?

All the good things of life are less than nothing
when compared with his love,
and with one glimpse of thy electing favour.

All the treasures of a million worlds could not
make me richer, happier, more contented,
for his unsearchable riches are mine.

One moment of communion with him, one view
of his grace,
is ineffable, inestimable.

But O God, I could not long after thy presence
if I did not know the sweetness of it;

And such I could not know except by thy Spirit
in my heart, nor love thee at all unless thou didst
elect me,
call me,
adopt me,
save me.

I bless thee for the covenant of grace.

Surprise! You're fired!

Yeah, this is SUPER old...don't get freaked out. I just forgot to post it, but I figure it's still worth posting cuz it's such an interesting story. ;)

So I know I haven't posted in almost 3 months, but I decided this was worth posting immediately.

I've decided the WORST possible way to get "fired" is basically what happened to me over the weekend. I have been working hard trying to get a weekly report done EVERY week, with a report system that basically takes 1/2 a week to get done...so needless to say I'm a little behind. But I had heard no complaints from my boss(es), and in fact was receiving more tasks to do on top of what I already had...which was fine. =)

I had set up a group to go with me to Mardi Gras at Universal Studios this past Friday night to see Boys Like Girls. =) I had given 2 of myc comp tickets for 2 of my friends to use to get into the park, I was going to use my employee ID, and 3 of the girls were going to get/renew their annual passes. The day of, I actually semi-freaked out, thinking maybe the girls w/ the comp tickets wouldn't be able to get in since M.G. is a 'special event'. So I called the number and my anxiety was put to rest...temporarily.

When all 6 of us got to CityWalk, 3 girls went ahead to get their passes taken care of while Jenn, Linds and I stayed in my QF store in CityWalk, trying on sunglasses, hats, and taking pics. =) When we got to the Universal gate, I let the 2 girls go ahead of me, and they went through fine. I breathed a sigh of relief. I gave the 'turnstile lady' my ID and she scanned it. The screen showed "unable to scan". We both seemed puzzled, but I just assumed that the magnetic strip on the back had gotten screwed up because it was in my wallet w/ my credit card, etc. The lady took my ID a few turnstiles down to another lady. They whispered to each other and looked back at me (meanwhile, I'm holding the line up which I LOVE!). The lady came back and said it was void, and usually an ID is only voided if the employee was terminated....?????? I smiled politely at her and said that I hadn't been terminated since I had just gotten off work about 1 1/2 hrs earlier. Ms. Turnstile didn't crack a smile. Suddenly she turned into robo-cop and was treating me as if I were a rebel teenage brat who was trying to smuggle myself into the park w/ a voided/stolen ID. She began interrogating me as if I were a suspect, asking questions like "when was the last time you worked?" and "are you sure you weren't terminated?"...guh. I was quickly losing my patience so I asked her to go check w/ her supervisor (bad idea) because I KNEW this was a mistake. She left and came back w/ her super who was probably the same age as me, tall, thin, blonde hair, dark sunglasses (which you're not supposed to wear in front of guests, if they can't see your eyes...it's rude and impersonal, but w/e).

This guy was not much better w/ his 'guest manners'. I attempted to assure him that I am, in fact, still employed, and tried to give him as much information about my company as I could squeeze out of my rattled brain at the moment. He also had come to me with the attitude of assuming I was one of those 'teen brats' that he obviously doesn't enjoy dealing with. He picked up on the 'interrogating' process where Ms. Turnstile left off, saying things like 'your name didn't show up on the time card' (even though I had just rec'd my paycheck that day) and 'this ID was last used in December' (which isn't true). The biggest shock was that he stated I shouldn't even HAVE this ID if I'm employed by a 3rd party vendor (which is what QF is to Universal) because 3rd party vendors have completely different ID's that don't allow access into the parks. I asked him if that was a new policy, and he smiled like I was stupid and said No. I informed him I had taken the class in October w/ a whole room full of 3rd party vendors and we all got the same ID. He basically avoided that comment, and then proceeded to tell me that my ID was herein confiscated!!! I asked him how I was supposed to go back to anyone (since all my supervisors/boss were already gone for the weekend) and PROVE that I was a current employee. He basically said it wasn't his problem, because "this ID is now Universal property. (turns card over and points) see? It says 'property of Universal Orlando'"....ARG!

I asked him what he expected me to do since I'd just let my friends in w/ MY comp passes that I'd just gotten a MONTH ago w/ my ID...he said w/ a smirk "you could buy a Mardi Gras ticket." Linds was standing behind him, motioning for me to calm down cuz she knew I was getting angry. =\

Long story short, I was able to get a night-manager at QF to talk to CityWalk guest services (since Universal Guest Services was hanging up on him every time he tried to call!) and they got me a comp pass, but not before informing us that Universal was not supposed to take my ID away from me. ):-( So even though all my friends got to get into the park at 6:30 that night, this whole ordeal took me 2 hours before I was able to get through the turnstiles.

THEN today I had to go to HR to retrieve my ID...met up w/ more frustration when the receptionist informed me that I was indeed terminated...on January 30th, 2009! Weird. My heart kind of sank, but then she asked me when I last received a pay check from Universal. I told her I got one on Friday. There was a lot of back n' forth between me and 2 other women, both of whom seemed completely unaffected by the trouble that their employees had given me...probably because the system still says I'm terminated. So HOPEFULLY the 'reinstatement' papers will be sent in today (by the manager at the CityWalk QF that did this in the first place) and my status will go back to 'employed' as of tomorrow. =) I then have to go back to HR and get a new ID. Oh joy.

Moral of the story...maybe you can point it out for me.

Rundown of my Cali Trip

Hello friends!

I thought I'd give you a detailed list of what we did each day...along with some pictures, and maybe some video if my computer doesn't act up! =P

Monday Megs and Malah picked Lindsay and me up from the LAX airport and took us to In n' Out for some UH-mazing burgers! Then we hung out at the Baird's for a while, and then went over to Malah's house to watch Skeleton Key (scary movie) and then the Cali group decided to take us to a nearby cemetary...to scare the living daylights out of us! ;) It was SO much fun!

Tuesday we went to San Alejo in Encinitas with Meghan and her parents (they had relatives camping out on the beach there). Before hitting the beach, Megs took Linds and me to Juanita's, a mexican restaurant...um, UHmazing again! It was this great little hole-in-the-wall place. Then we went down the street to Thrifty Threads so Megs could buy a pair of Seven's jeans. ;) Once we got to the beach...which is absolutely GORGEOUS...the three of us laid out on some rocks to somehow catch some rays through our jeans and sweatshirts, since it was so stinkin' cold there! Later we went for a walk on the beach, took some fun pictures, and then met up with the fam at the campsite for a grilled steak dinner! One of Meghan's uncles told the story of Rinder Cellar...it's a great story! ;)

Wednesday Linds and I slept in (shocker!) since Megs had to work till noon. Then she came and picked us up and we all drove to the Pantages theater to see....WICKED the Musical!!! Megs had never seen it and Linds and I were able to get tickets as her combined Christmas/birthday present! She loved it and we loved seeing it again! It was such a fun experience to see it in such a classic theater as the Pantages. =) Later that evening, after having pizza with the fam, Malah and her sister Bree met up with us and we all drove down to Colorado Blvd where the Rose Parade would take place the next morning. People had been camping out since 11 AM! It was a lot of fun. We eventually got out and hung out with some of the Sovereign Grace 'campers' until after the countdown.

Well, that's it for now. I'll post the rest of the week later. =)

The Epicness of Ice-Blocking

I have NO idea why I never posted this, but here it is nonetheless...

Truly, what I am about to tell you is of the utmost importance, secrecy, and frivolity. You will never experience anything QUITE like ice-blocking, so I shall leave you with detailed instructions.

1. Purchase a block of ice from nearby grocery store

2. Wrap ice block in towel for safe-keeping

3. Drive to nearest golf-course (or otherwise most hilly place in FL)

*NOTE: Ice-blocking is much more effective when executed after sunset...preferably around 10 or 11 pm*

4. Send a scout down the hill to ensure there are no lakes, walls, or other such obstacles before commencing to ice-block

*NOTE: concrete footpaths and iron grates will hinder your journey of ice-blocking*

5. Set the unwrapped ice-block on the ground with the folded towel on top

6. Sit on towel and 'commence to start'

7. Once momentum picks up, lift feet and hands off the ground to ensure increased momentum; balance is required at this point

*NOTE: always see other ice-blockers as a potential threat to your personal ice-blocking experience...steer clear of them...do not run into them. This will result in the 'human snowball effect'*

*NOTE: the hands may be used as brakes, but it is not recommended*

8. In order to end your ice-blocking experience (at the bottom of the hill), simply drive heels into ground to slow the speed of your ice block; or as some may choose, simply throw yourself off the ice-block...not recommended

9. Carry ice-block back up the hill for others to enjoy the epic thrill

*NOTE: the green stains on your hands and clothes will come off...eventually*

*NOTE: soreness the next morning is to be expected; Advil is recommended*

Thus concludes very informative instructions for ice-blocking. If you have any further questions, please do not ask Lindsay. ;)