suffering and hope
it has been sometime once again since my last blog and really i have no good reason for this other than the fact that i have just not done it. i miss it, i miss the outlet that blogging has sometime provided so like many of us have said before- I WILL TRY HARDER TO BLOG MORE!
anyway, what has brought me back to this world of blogging is the subject of suffering. i am leading an adult bible study at church on the book of job, and this week we spent the majority of our time focussing on the idea of suffering- what is the hardest part about it, what we hope/expect from other people when we find ourself in the midst of suffering, etc. i also brought this subject to our newly formed youth group and was amazed as normal by the wisdom that they young people bring forth. so i wonder, all you out there in blogger land- think about a time that you have been "suffering"- perhaps you never have- great, but if you have, or if someone you love has, what was the hardest part about it? and what did you hope you would get from other people.
related to suffering, i was saddened last night by the state of our world- more specifically the state of marriages and families. in my small group of eleven last night, 9 of us were from families that were divorced, and four of them more than once...that is just sad- and i know there were more in the other group as well. it broke my heart to see the way this was tearing at the very being of these kids, and i wonder what can the church say in response to this? what is our role as the community these kids come to for something? and what is that something? okay, enough with the questions, but please ponder with me.
in other news....payton turned 1 last month, and logan will be 4 in a week. my how the time goes. the church continues to grow- we now face the problem of being too big for our current space. we have a website up and in progress-
Advent Website. life is good, god continues to bless us in amazing ways.
jg
anyway, what has brought me back to this world of blogging is the subject of suffering. i am leading an adult bible study at church on the book of job, and this week we spent the majority of our time focussing on the idea of suffering- what is the hardest part about it, what we hope/expect from other people when we find ourself in the midst of suffering, etc. i also brought this subject to our newly formed youth group and was amazed as normal by the wisdom that they young people bring forth. so i wonder, all you out there in blogger land- think about a time that you have been "suffering"- perhaps you never have- great, but if you have, or if someone you love has, what was the hardest part about it? and what did you hope you would get from other people.
related to suffering, i was saddened last night by the state of our world- more specifically the state of marriages and families. in my small group of eleven last night, 9 of us were from families that were divorced, and four of them more than once...that is just sad- and i know there were more in the other group as well. it broke my heart to see the way this was tearing at the very being of these kids, and i wonder what can the church say in response to this? what is our role as the community these kids come to for something? and what is that something? okay, enough with the questions, but please ponder with me.
in other news....payton turned 1 last month, and logan will be 4 in a week. my how the time goes. the church continues to grow- we now face the problem of being too big for our current space. we have a website up and in progress-
Advent Website. life is good, god continues to bless us in amazing ways.
jg
Labels: church, life, theological ramble
I ran across this quote of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Letter July 18, 1944):
Jesus asked in Gethsemane, ‘Could you not watch with me one hour?’…Man is summoned to share in God’s sufferings at the hands of a godless world. He must therefore really live in the godless world, without attempting to gloss over or explain its ungodliness in some religious way or other. He must live a ‘secular’ life, and thereby share in God’s sufferings…It is not the religious act that makes the Christian, but participation in the sufferings of God in the secular life."
Posted by
Karen Elizabeth |
11:19 AM
wow karen, nothing like a little bonhoeffer to make my day!
Posted by
Justin G |
12:38 PM
j- one of the churches i serve is always locked and was speaking with a member of the church about their desire the church building would always be unlocked because a church should be a refuge in stormy times.
i have been thinking alot about that comment since a funeral i did last week. for the woman who died, the church had served as a refuge in her life. how often do we in the church remember that the doors should always be open to anyone because there are people who are seeking refuge.
as the things we hold to be true in our world continue to be challenged, our relationships go sour, and our experiences don't meet our expectations, we are filled with questions. i believe the church should be a place where the questions are welcomed just as warmly as the one who asks the questions.
by holding firmly to the hope the gospel provides allows the church to stand as a refuge in the storms of life. a place of caring. a place of hospitality. a place of compassion. a place of stability.
maybe the best thing to say is to stand with our arms open in welcome.
Posted by
Leland |
10:25 PM
here it is snowing a lot there. hope you have a good easter despite that. thinking of you all and hope to see you soon.
peace, erik
Posted by
Anonymous |
9:32 PM