I love this picture. Can't you just smell all that wonderful bread. Well, you might be able to but I certainly can not. I think I have a damaged sense of smell. It all began when my genes knitted me together and the allergic ones were chosen.
It is that time of year again when so many people suffer and struggle with allergies. If you are one of those who do, you will now exactly what I mean when I use words like struggle and suffer. People will often ask me questions like, "do you have a cold?" and I usually answer, "oh, no it is JUST allergies." But in truth, having allergies is really, really hard and makes each day a struggle. They seem never to give up the attack and come out in full force when you least expect it. Over the years I have learnt, in part, to manage the effects of being allergic to everything beautiful , green or blooming but if I am realistic , it is a basic managing of something that really seems not to want to be controlled.
I find that life is a lot like being allergic. I find being a Christian even more so. I suspect, if people were truly honest about themselves and their lives, they might come to similar conclusions. You see, I find life to be one, long, continual struggle splattered here and there with times of fun and happiness but for the main part , much of it is like being a hamster on its wheel. Spinning around and around. I imagine that my personality has much to do with my outlook on life as does yours. I know that my personal experiences throughout life have coloured my view as have yours. I suspect we see life very much through these lenses whoever we are and whatever our world view. I suspect that we manage to squash and squeeze or beliefs into the shape they are according to these things too.
Gods word works differently. If you have experienced Him and his word you will understand that we are to submit our thinking, believing, ideas, experiences and personalities to him and his word. In a very real sense we exchange the false glasses that we wear with his very beautiful and real ones..... and yet I suspect that we struggle to do even this well. Perhaps if you do and you have it all sorted then you can count yourself 'blessed".
Life's struggles for most are eased by the success of their circumstances and if the circumstances of life are favorable, then all seems well. In Christian circles I find a strangeness here. I say strange because we should not look like the world in our approach to struggles but sometimes we do...
Those who have little struggle in an area , lets say marriage, finding work, health or with finances and even issues like forgiveness seem to have a certain faith in that area.They seem to know exactly the way to overcome the struggle themselves despite it not being something they are struggling with.Often the advice is to trust more or to just think in the right way about your problem. The message is " Just sort it out" - after all who wants to hang out with a struggler. The quick fix approach to life's problems. Just do it and please dont get down about that again. God has sorted it once for all times.
I have observed though, that in the scary places God takes us; in those very places he knows we need to rest in him and where we can not in and of ourselves muster up even a tiny bit of trust ; I have observed that at that point all lips fall silent. I suspect we all have that place where God might stretch his hand and act so that we who are called by name and who can not trust , will depend whole heartedly on him and when that time comes it is good to have someone along side you who walk with you and hold you up when your knees fail you.
I have two friends who are enduring Chemotherapy this very day in fact. Both are women , both have husbands and children. When the door to the world of cancer is opened, then many, many stories of others who are struggling this call, come out. " oh yes, my friend and ...I know someone." The struggle that these two brave, lovely Christian women face is for now, foreign to me. Their fear of the unknown is not. It would be heartless and wrong of me to tell them to trust more. Have more faith. The reality is when their knees are feeble and they stumble that God will give them trust in him according to their need. They can not gather up that which they do not have. So I pray for each of them that he will be very real to them and give to each as they need. I pray that I will be a friend who remembers that I am not worthy and yet I am accepted and so can walk along next to them and offer a hand to steady their way.
One often hears this said.... The church is full of hypocrites! While this may be true I find the church rather to be full of those who have forgotten. I often forget!! I forget that God called me while I was still against him. I wanted nothing to do with him and yet he loved me. He died for me while I was happily getting on with life my way. and so I forget and many, many people have forgotten. Perhaps they have never really understood. He has called me to a new life full of his love and blessing but in honesty it is a life I dont find very easy. and yet this truth still stands....
I can do nothing to save myself and in fact all I do adds nothing nor does it subtract from that which God has done for me in Jesus Christ.
and so I have forgotten.........because I forget to remember so easily I very quickly slot back into working , working, working my way to please him who in fact is already pleased. The thing is I see people all around doing the same thing. We begin to expect from others to work harder or longer or more. Even in the area of trust. Just trust more... as if I am able to do even this on my own and as if my trust will change my circumstances. The danger is that the forgetful become the judgmental and self righteous. Jesus met these kinds of people when he walked on earth. He had a lot to say about them and to them.
A friend bought me a book for my birthday. It is called The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. I began to read it this weekend. He writes in the foreword who he is writing for. Here are some...
(Christians who....)
" It is for the sorely burdened who are still shifting the heavy suitcase from one hand to the other.
It is for the poor, weak, sinful men and women with hereditary faults and limited talents.
It is for the bent and bruised who feel that their lives are a grave dissapointment to God.
It is for smart people who know they are stupid and honest people who know they are scallywags. "
Immediately I loved this book. My friend knew I would . Honesty and humility of our real situation before God and our real acceptance by him because of Jesus, is something of worth to be reminded of so that we can truly love others from the heart because we are truly loved and accepted. Love them because they too are sinners , broken and bent just like us. None is worthy. Many are made worthy.
