In his farewell address, Pope Benedict XVI told his worldwide audience Wednesday that though there were times of joy, stormy seas made it seem that there were times at which The Lord might have been sleeping through a crisis.
I wonder how many believers expressed shock that such a holy man would come right out and say that it felt like God ignored someone’s problems.
That’s the kind of thing, after all, that some church folk do, not so much because they disagree with the sentiment but rather because they just feel that expressing it is something you just don’t do.
I happen to think that a good deal of people, even the most strident of believers, have felt at some point that God had forgotten them or abandoned them. And before you bow up to quote some scripture to me, let me save you the time: as Jesus was dying on the cross, Matthew 27:46 [NLT] tells us, in his ninth hour there, he cried out, “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” One explanation for Jesus’s words is that because he had taken on all of the sin of mankind, God had to spiritually “turn away” from His Son, just as sin separates all of us from God.
If sin can separate us from God, common sense might suggest that repentance alone should make all right with our portion of the world, and that confessing them to God and asking for His forgiveness should suddenly allow Him to grant all of our wishes. Spiritual reality is a bit more complicated, however.
Even those who do confess their sins and try to consistently walk on God’s path faithfully still face times when it might seem as though God has turned His back on them. How could that be? Two simple reasons:
Point one is something I lose sight of from time to time. If God is all-knowing, and I believe He is, then why should anyone have to ask for something? Doesn’t He already know?
Sure He does.
But think of it from a parent’s perspective: sometimes a parent learns of a problem a child is having, but wants to let the child solve it on his own if the child wants to try. The parent is waiting to help, but wants to give the child the opportunity to grow. If the child realizes the problem is too big, and lets his parents know what has happened, the parents will then step in and salvage the situation. If parents do it, why is it easy to forget at times that God could do the same thing, allowing us those changes for personal growth (and cheering us on as we make the attempt)?
Point two is the one I almost never forget, but wish that I could. The answer to everything we ask for isn’t “yes.” Would that it were. Unfortunately for us, we view our hardships primarily from only our own narrow, limited perspective. So something that feels big to us feels all-consuming.
God sees it from an eternal perspective. To base a comparison on a somewhat tired cliché, we can’t see the forest for our trees, but God sees the entire continent. (And beyond.) What’s best for us isn’t always what we think is best for us. What’s best for us isn’t always easy, or the most inexpensive option, or even the most attractive one. If God loves us, His primary intent can’t be that we have to suffer, but sometimes, we have to walk through turmoil caused by mankind to reach what God has for us.
In those times of turmoil, I try to remind myself of Jeremiah 29:11 [NLT]:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
It doesn’t sound like the words of One who’d sleep through our problems without concern for us, does it?
@MeghanMBiro @patricksplace AND WHAT AN #INSULT TO #GOD #ALMIGHTY,AND #JESUS,#MR #RATZINGER IS #HOPING AND #PRAYING THEY WERE #SLEEPING.
@aunidan64 @MeghanMBiro @patricksplace THOUGH THE #BIGGEST #BLASPHEMY IS AGAINST THE #HOLY #SPIRIT,FOR IN #HER #NAME ALSO THE #EVIL WAS DONE
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I wanted to make this a seperate comment, because it's really a seperate line of thought. Another idea of Jesus' words in Matthew 27:16 is that He was begining to recite the 22nd psalm. The psalms were intimately familiar to his audience. You or I could say "Oh say can you see..." or "Our Father, who art in heaven..." and immediately someone would know the whole song or creed were going to quote.
In much the same way, the disciples of Christ would recognize the opening of Psalm 22. Basically, Jesus was just too exhausted and out of breath to get to the whole thing out. So he started it knowing his disciples woudl recognize it.
I won't quote the whole thing here, but it is a remarkable depiction (written thousands of years before Christ was born) of what he was going through.
scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
(The roman soliders actually did cast lots for Jesus' clothes).
Then look at what David says in verse 24!
For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
Latest blog post: The Next Big Thing (Tagged)
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Being a parent has totally changed my understanding of God. His love makes so much more sense. His capacity to forgive makes so much sense, and even His answers make more sense as you point out here. Maybe that's why He makes such a big deal out of the family.
Latest blog post: The Next Big Thing (Tagged)
Patrick is a television producer, writer, Mac lover, and Christian, though not necessarily in that order. He has a natural dislike of double standards and poor grammar.
