God's Absence

I have often been told that when one first turns to God, one is greeted with brilliant 'Yes' answers to prayers.  For a long time that was true for me.  But then, when he has you hooked, he starts to say 'No'.  This has been, indeed, my experience.  But it has been more than a 'No' answer lately; after all, 'No' is an answer.  It is the silence, the withdrawal, which is so devastating.  the world is difficult enough with God; without him it is a hideous joke.

Madeleine L'Engle, The Irrational Season

We have been fooled to believe that following after God always brings clarity and dispels any confusion.  In this instance Religion is exceedingly helpful; an answer for everything and everything in order.  Yet somewhere along life's path the construct of Religion (whether it be our religious fervour for politics, god, or human ingenuity) is tested by the weight of the unpredictable mess-of-life.  We work diligently to ensure that the structure of our Religion can withstand the pressure.  We double our efforts, deepen our convictions, and attack out of our own survival.

There is so much at stake; there is too much to lose.

Our self-preservational instincts to double our efforts around our ideologies will only shroud us from the depth and vastness of God.  We will live small lives if we hold on too tightly for fear that our life may actually be lost.

This is the descriptive of a grown-up-mature faith.  One that no longer is seduced by an answer for everything and can instead, in the stillness of God's absence, continue the journey in faith.

A Threat To Real Christianity?

I recently was given Chuck Colson's latest book: The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters. This book's purpose is to outline what Christians should believe so they can better live out (and defend) their faith.

Early in the book Colson points out that Christianity and the message of Christ get misunderstood by our mainstream media. In an effort to clarify the hope of Christianity he writes that "love and forgiveness are hallmarks of Christianity, real Christianity" (p.17). Colson goes on to write: "real Christianity is no threat but a glorious proposal".

The "Good News" is good news for all people...a "glorious proposal" indeed: to leave a life of greed, selfishness, and death and pursue Christ's work in this world. Colson is spot on.

Yet only 5 pages later Colson's words give reason why other people groups (and the mainstream media) see Christianity not as a welcomed remedy, but as an oppressive tyrant when he writes: "The Christian West is under assault by the twin challenges of secularism and radical Islam" (p.22). When we articulate the issues we face in this manner does the world really see the Gospel as "a glorious proposal?"

These kind of statements do more harm in creating an "us vs. them" mentality, making some out to be the "good guys" and others the "bad guys". While secularism and Islam may be on the increase are these to be seen as threats or as opportunities for communicating our hope in Christ?

Unfortunately when we begin to rally people around the "issues" that threaten our way of thinking, we end up working people up in a frenzy of fear that often times leads them to respond in such a way that looks nothing like the real love that Jesus calls us to live by.

May the Gospel relieve us of our fear and show us that the very people we thought we were to fight against are the very people we are called to fight for.