Tribulation

This was the subject of today's Sunday School lesson.  I thought it was rather appropriate to the day.

One of the basic, fundamental questions that most Christians wrestle with as we strive to come closer to God is, "Why does God let bad things happen to good people?"

Tribulation can be anything from struggling with a personal addiction to the agonizing events that happened 10 years ago today.

I don't pretend to have all the answers.  I don't know the mind of God.  But let me tell you what I believe.

First of all, this discussion requires just a little background in my theological beliefs.

I believe that I have an eternal soul.  I existed before I came here, I will exist still after I die.  This mortal existence is merely one part of my greater purpose in the universe.

I believe God created the Earth.  I have no beef when it comes to evolution vs. creationism.  I personally think they are both right.  God's timeline is probably much grander than our own and his 'days' in the book of Genesis are probably not Earth days.  So, sure.  Dinosaurs roamed the earth, we probably did evolve from amoeba in the primordial swamp, and we probably share a common ancestor with the modern chimp.  I firmly believe in the accuracy of carbon dating, I am a big fan of the Big Bang Theory, and science in general.  To me, this does not cause a rift with Adam being the first human at all.  I think God is infinite in his wisdom and that someday when we return to him, it will all make perfect sense.

I believe that I came here to Earth to learn and to hopefully grow more like God.  More knowledgeable, more compassionate, more wise.  In order to learn, I have to be allowed to make choices for myself.  The ability to choose is fundamental to my beliefs in finding my purpose in life.  If God is our Heavenly Father, then I can use the analogy of teaching my child through choice to help me understand how God deals with us.  To develop an independent mind, we allow our children to make choices and learn from them.  God does the same with us.  With choice, however, comes consequence.  Some consequences are good.  Some are not.

I believe that if I have the right to make choices and face the consequences of those choices, then so does every other human being on the planet.  Unfortunately, the consequences of choices are not always isolated to the person who made the choice.  And that is where the dilemma facing Christians comes into play.  How can a kind and merciful God allow the evil choices of other men to bring suffering to the innocent?

I believe in Jesus.  I believe that he chose to suffer for the sins of all mankind.  I believe he atoned for those sins.  That means that he paid the eternal price, or consequence, for the sins of all who will accept that atonement in their lives.  That doesn't mean that we will be free of the mortal consequences of sin here on earth, however.  But we will be free from the eternal consequences of sin, namely, separation from God.  So, in that sense, although we suffer for a time here on earth, God knows it will only be for a small moment in the grand scheme of things and if we have become disciples of Christ, we will be able to rise above mortal strife.

I also believe we will never be given trials greater than our ability to withstand them.  Small comfort though that may be in the midst of pain and anguish.

I believe that the suffering we feel when facing tribulation, or trials, can bring us greater empathy for our fellow men.  I have suffered the sudden and tragic death of a younger brother.  In that sense, I have a greater compassion, or empathy, for others who are currently struggling with the grief over the sudden death of a loved one.  The ability to 'see' through another's eyes... someone else's perspective... is a God like quality that we can develop here on Earth.

Now, if God were only concerned with our happiness, he would take away our ability to choose and would make choices for all mankind in order to prevent any unhappiness.  But, where is the learning in that?  Where is the growth?  How would we become more compassionate and wise?  As a parent, would you want to continue to make EVERY choice for your children all of their lives?  Are you only concerned with their happiness?  Or is there more to being a parent?

I believe that God is concerned with much more than our temporary happiness.  It is our eternal soul that he is concerned with.  So, yes, we will have to face the consequences of not only our own choices, but those of other people as well.  Some will suffer.  Others will die.  But the soul lives on, and grows... hopefully into something beautiful.

So.  The Sunday School lesson today focused on 2 Corinthians, Chapter 1.  In it, the apostle Paul is writing about tribulation to the people of Corinth.  In it he encourages them to comfort one another in their times of trial, as Christ comforts his people.  We are to become the hand of God in other people's lives.  We are to use the wisdom and empathy we have gained from our own trials to lift those around us who are suffering.  In order to do that, we must know our neighbors.  How can you comfort and support a neighbor who just lost a parent if you don't even know it has happened?  We have to reach out to one another in friendship and Christian love.

The lesson ties in beautifully with a blog post I read recently.  Here is a small blurb from it...

He answered his phone…I saw that he was just listening…I could hear that the person’s voice was getting louder and louder and louder………..my husband just listened. He turned his back to me a little so I wouldn’t hear. But I could hear it….It seemed to go on and on and on……..

These were the things I could hear on the other end of the phonecall….

“You are bringing down the value of my property with that ugly sign!”

“What are you doing?”

“That is the most obnoxious sign, do you have a permit to have that out there?”

“Are you starting a used car lot?”

“You have got to get all of that moved and out of here or I am calling the authorities”

I sat there, mortified, embarrassed, humiliated, mad, sad, devastated. I was certain that this would snap my husband back into his dark hellish place.

But, when the man was done ranting, my husband waited a second and then very calmly said something that I will never, ever forget…….

“Sir,” he said, “There was a time in this country, in this community…when if you drove past your neighbor’s house and saw every single thing they own was for sale in front of their house…and that their lawn had not been mowed for weeks….that you would stop and say….WHAT IS GOING ON, SOMETHING MUST BE TERRIBLY WRONG, WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU?”

The man was silent…..and then my husband went on to tell him a few details about what was going on with our family….

The man waited a moment and then his tone changed…..he apologized….I mean, really apologized and then said…

“I am going to call all of my friends and see if any of them need any of this stuff….”

Here is a link to the whole blog post if you'd like to read all of it.  If gives us all a lot to think about.

So, all in all, it was a good lesson.  Sorry for the rambling sermon.  It uplifted me and I hope did the same for you.  This is why I go to church.