Images of Christ

"Fake people have an image to maintain; Real People don't..."

                                                                                   ~ Anonymous

Like millions of other people, I have met many fake people in my life. In fact, until I had cancer, I truly didn't realize how many false people there were.
And sadly, I found many of them within the halls of the Church; sitting on the same pews as true, devoted worshipers of the Lord.

In my down time, especially when I started getting sick again and had to have my spleen removed, what exactly would a Christian be or do to accurately reflect a true image of Jesus?
We, as Christians, are to follow Christ - to become more like Him.
If that is true, what would that look like?
What would you and I look like?

Well, I have a few observations and it seems to me modern Christians fail horribly at reflecting the true nature and essence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Greatest Story Ever Told

If you go back a half-century, or even further for that matter, you will find Jesus as one of the popular subjects of filmmakers. 
Yet, in these old movies such as, 'The Greatest Story Ever Told,' Jesus appears flat, emotionless, moving through society unaffected by the rest of the world.
One has described this variation of the Lord - 'The Prozac Jesus.'

But the Gospels paint an entirely different picture of Jesus; the carpenter from Nazareth was very charismatic - people followed Him from town to town, not just for what He might provide them but rather, what He could teach them about God.
And they had never heard anybody teach of God like He could; that makes sense because He is the only person who had first-hand experience of God's presence.

Several years ago, a television ministry was soliciting funds for a new statue of a 'Smiling Jesus' to be placed on their church grounds.
I can remember the minister asking the masses to give, 'Twenty million dollars for Jesus Christ.'
It made me sick to my stomach.
Anyway, when I finally got to see the statue, it had an image of Jesus grinning so big that He looked as if He was about to come to life and eat me with all those teeth.
Now, I don't think Jesus was a first century comic; yet, the Gospels are clear that Jesus experienced the same feelings we experience today.

The Gospels also show Jesus as being 'moved with compassion' several times.
When I think of the Lord's compassion, I think of holding the hurting, helping the homeless, ministering to special needs, loving people simply because Jesus loved me.
That's real compassion - and we should seek to be more like Him.
 

Like us, the very things that are troubling in our lives, troubled Jesus as well.
One bishop several centuries ago stated that while on the earth, Jesus never once laughed or smiled; yet, that image just doesn't fit.
The Gospels record Jesus as having a wide range of emotions in His interactions with people; when they rejoiced, so did Jesus. When they were sorrowful, so was He.


The fact is, the Prozac Jesus doesn't exist; not then and not now - nor should this somber, otherworldly image be the image Christians produce (falsely) for the world to see.
For God is just not like that; He is involved with us because of His great love.


We have a hard time understanding Jesus, maybe more today than ever before.
For Jesus is unlike any man who has ever graced the Earth.

Unlike most men, Jesus turned attention away from Himself and on to others.
To one who was sick, 'Your faith has healed you...'
To Nathaniel - Jesus proudly exclaimed, 'A true Israelite in whom there is no guile...'
Of John The Baptist, Jesus said of him, '...none greater had been born of woman.'
To the volatile Peter, Jesus called him 'The Rock.'

Church Auctioned Off

Jesus even defended a woman who engaged in an extravagant act of worship and said of her that her generosity toward Him would forever be told.

Unfortunately, most men and even Christians, prefer to turn attention to themselves and glory in the rewards. Jesus didn't - He took joy in the faith accomplishments of others.
Maybe if modern Christians spent more time looking at their own hearts and turning the glory over to others in humility, we wouldn't have the competition among one another or the power struggles within churches we have today.
But I digress.

When dealing with people of all ranks and status of society, Jesus cut instantly to the heart of the matter.
In doing so, Jesus revealed to the individual He could be trusted; in return, people felt natural sharing even the most intimate details of their lives fairly quickly with Him.
Jesus knew how to speak to that deep hunger all men have within them; in doing so, people actually liked being with Jesus.
That wasn't true of the religious people of His time, nor of our time.

The truth is, many sinners and unbelievers can't stand being around self-proclaimed Christians because they act nothing like Jesus.
That is to say, they live in a grace-deprived world, where they neither receive nor dispense God's greatest gift to humanity.

Most Christians act and behave in a way that is in accordance with the world's standards and it is very difficult to distinguish between a believer and a nonbeliever.
Yet, when Jesus was on Earth, He proclaimed to all, 'This world is not my home...'
The same is true of Christians, we're simply passing through this proving ground; but how different we are in our time on earth than Jesus.
For most, I would say we are too comfortable and have grown accustom to this fallen world.

One thing that continues to amaze me about Jesus is the fact that is unique in and of Himself in history, yet He preferred the average believer instead of a seemingly squeaky clean student of the Law.
He owns such power, which made Him the envy of the secular authorities; but He remained in Palestine His entire life.
I wonder what such a man could have done in the metropolises of the day, such as Rome or Alexandria.

Small Churches Reach the World

Yet, as Jesus preferred small towns and common people; we can see that much of His work continues to go on two-thousand years later through small towns, average people and quaint congregations.
And strikingly similar, His emissaries in those small towns, the under-shepherds we call 'Pastors,' they are still crucified today for standing with Him.


Of Jesus the Nazarene, the Christ - I know of no parallels anywhere in the annals of history. 
He came full of grace and truth; how many of His followers can say the same today?

Amazingly, the Gospels tell of demons and spirits who never failed to recognize Jesus as the Christ, or as one put it, 'the Holy One of God.'
It was humans who questioned His identity - and it still happens today.

It would take the resurrection for Jesus to prove His ultimate truth; turning a handful of men and women into the tools by which He would proclaim the Gospel of God.
From those original followers, they founded a movement which became the Church; whereby His mission has not stopped in nearly 20 centuries.

So, how to we have the impact, make the difference and show the world our Sovereign Lord?

Simple - Jesus had to be raised to Life to seal His truth in the disciples' minds. So must we.

In our lives, if you want people to see God through you, experience His grace through your life, and seek Him in all things - you are going to have to go through a Resurrection yourself.
You and I must die at the foot of the Cross and allow Him to raise us to His newness of life.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.

Helping the Hurting

"Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves."

                                                                                  ~ Horace Mann

The true nature of a person is seen in how they treat other people who are hurting or vulnerable.
By and large, Americans are generally rushing to help others.
And while this is commendable, we should not break our arms patting ourselves on the back because sometimes, it is those who are Christians who do more harm than good when a tragedy strikes.

Courtesy of BGCT - Disaster Relief

I recently read of an experiment where a person was to place their feet in a bucket of ice-water. These were compared to others in the experiment, who instead of being forced to endure the suffering alone, had someone endure the same treatment with them.
The result was that humans will endure suffering and pain better when we have a companion.
And this is generally true in all aspects of life.

Maybe this is why married people live longer; they endure things better because they like to suffer together. :)
Now, don't go off the deep end, a little humor when speaking of a serious topic never hurt anyone. 

As the Body of Christ, the Church should do no harm to those who are suffering physically, emotionally or mentally; yet, I have often heard and seen many examples where the Church has actually made it worse for those who are enduring a season of suffering and tragedy.

For example, when the Tsunami hit Indonesia a few years ago and killed a quarter of a million people, there were some ministers who gave credit solely to God's wrath against the pagan nations of the region for persecuting Christians.
Personally, I don't think those type of statements did anything to bring reconciliation or ease the persecution of our distressed brothers and sisters in Christ.

Even in our own country we've seen this.
After the attacks on the World Trade Center, a televangelist in Virginia told the world those horrid acts of terrorism was due to the lifestyles and beliefs of... 'the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians...'

Now, I don't know how many people those statements helped, though I believe it is very few. But I do know that his statements received widespread media coverage, and they were damning to the Body of Christ.
The truth is that our words can easily repel much quicker than they can attract.
You see, every person has a reason for tragedy happening to another - often sounding like Job's 'friends.'
But what most people do not have an answer for is when tragedy strikes their own lives.

John Calvin

At the present, my denomination of the Southern Baptist Convention, it seems that there is a struggle within many churches over the theological viewpoint called 'Calvinism,' which takes its namesake from the great reformer, John Calvin.
While there are many good and Godly positions taken by Calvinists, the one thing committed Calvinists strain to explain is catastrophes as an expression of God's Sovereign Will.

Regardless of one's theology, all Christians should turn to  Christ's example in the New Testament and see what He did in such situations.
Jesus never once used "God's Will" in reasoning an explanation when confronted with people who were hurting and suffering.
Jesus didn't lecture people to accept their shortcomings or situations.
Instead, Jesus looked to them with compassion because He knew that humans live in a world that He did not create, but is fallen from His own perfection.

You see, what many fail to realize is that Jesus dealt with people in compassion concerning God's desires for the world, as opposed to God's Will for the world.

When a person dies, we sometimes hear as an explanation, "Well, God needed him home."
The person may very well be walking in heaven with the Lord at the time, but what about his wife and children who are suffering the anguish of a loss?

When a tragedy happens like the shooting at Newtown, Connecticut, or some other horrible tragedy; in an effort to help, some will say, 'There must be a reason God allowed this..."
What they have said is true, there is a reason - but in that moment, there is no reason on earth that could ever make sense at that particular time.

Many times, when a succession of bad things happen, we hear, 'God will not put on us more than we can bear...'
Well, that's true, but it sounds hollow when an individual is at the breaking point in their lives.
But it does help to remember that if you and I are upset about the condition of the planet, just imagine how God feels.

As the Body of Christ, in times of pain and tragedy, we must remember that the comments we make are going to be remembered long after the event.
I know as well as you that everybody, at some point, struggles with what they should say to a person who is hurting.
We want to help, but we ourselves feel helpless in that time as a tool of God under the power of the Spirit.

Yet, there is a person who nailed it.

Boston Marathon

There is a man named Joe Berti; he was blessed enough to have crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon just seconds before the terrorists' bomb exploded.
But his story doesn't end there.
You see, after the race and subsequent questioning, Joe Berti came home to Texas where he witnessed the explosion of a fertilizer plant.

Fertilizer Plant

Twice this man escaped death; some called him lucky, others said he had good Karma, but his wife hit the nail on the head:

"We're grateful God has been merciful to us."

No person could have ever said it better; if we are enduring pain or joy - in both cases there is plenty of room to find the grace and mercy of God.

For example, I know a minister who has been under verbal persecution for a long time. When he left his church after being disrespected and ill-treated in private, rumors began to surface that he had been dating several of the women in the Church he served.
The rumors were, of course, unfounded - no females ever came forward and nobody let his wife know what he was supposedly doing.
It was as if one day he was a Godly man and the next he fell from grace without warning; although it would have been kind of hard for him to hide relationships with 6 women outside of his marriage.
But even with that mess going on around them, he and his wife have never been stronger in their relationship. 
There is a lot of grace and mercy involved as they endure this time together.

As we deal with people who are hurting, they need compassion and comfort from God Himself. 
The truth is that God isn't going to show up, so He sends you and me in His place - and He does come to them through us by the power of His Spirit.
If we allow Him, He will bring comfort to their hurting hearts.

You see, the only way we can respond effectively in such a situation is to do what Jesus did when He found hurting people.
Jesus often fully embraced the tragedy and the people involved as they were enduring the worst circumstances in their lives.

Instead of concentrating on the Seven Deadly Sins that condemn people, maybe it would be helpful for the individual members of the Body of Christ to concentrate on the Seven Works of Mercy:

Feed the Hungry

Give Drink to the Thirsty

Visit the Sick

Clothe the Naked

House the Homeless

Ransom the Captive

Bury the Dead

The only way Christians will ever reclaim society is through these activities because it is through these things where Christ can work His greatest in the most dire situations.
One problem we may have - finding enough Christians who can stay committed to doing these very things.
I say this because many times, I have found a person who engages in these ministries are often criticized for his or her work. 
Although Jesus preferred the company of whores, the poor, sinners, and tax collectors - it is as if doing so to serve God went out with the Apostles.

Friends, in our world today, the Christian faith no longer travels by the words we speak. 
Instead, it moves among people the best through the deeds in which we are engaged.
And that is how you help the hurting - by serving them in the name of Christ.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.

Grieving a Fellow Struggler

"Mommy, I'm okay, but all my friends are dead."

                                                                                     ~ Six-year old girl, Newtown Survivor

The amazing thing about the above quote is the fact that police had arrived at the elementary school within 10 minutes of the first shot.
When it was over, this little girl's words were the first thing spoken to her mother. It seemed that in her mind, assuring her mother that she was alive was the most important thing in the world.
The fact all her friends had tragically died was secondary.
What this shows us is that in times of grief and tragedy, we often look to others in a quest to comfort them rather than draw inward because of our own pain.

This weekend I was informed that a friend of mine had passed away.
Granted, we didn't talk much over the years but did belong to at least two clubs that are fairly exclusive. We had both graduated from the same high school which is now closed and secondly, we were both diagnosed with cancer.

We had become reacquainted in recent years as we battled the disease in our own ways; God chose to heal me but my friend continue to battle the disease.
I cannot explain why and I wouldn't even begin to attempt an answer.

I can, however, begin to speak of what happens in such a time; especially when there are so many similarities. 

Tragedies which occur in society effect people differently; few take on a national grief such as the September 11th attacks. When the Towers were hit, all other news seemed insignificant.
Horrible events seemed to precede and follow that one day with varying degrees of pain and loss; but when  the murderous rampage took place at Sandy Brook Elementary, an uneasiness began to sink into our hearts.
Small coffins for so many will do that to a normal soul.

After those events, most would think that we are beyond shock, but it isn't so.
Every time we lose someone where we identify with them to a large degree or love that person dearly, the shock of the loss takes on new meaning.
Sadly, we discover once again that we are helpless in the wake of tragedy and pain.

Reflecting back, I remember at Columbine the teenagers were killing their classmates because of years of rejection and internal pain. Our teenagers lost their innocence as police began to regularly patrol schools, which continues to this day.
I remember having a moment of silence on stage with the audience before performing in a theatrical production after the senseless shooting at Virginia Tech.
From Fort Hood, we were told that the treasonous Army Major was secretly a jihadist; as were the 17 men who caused the destruction on September 11th.

But with Newtown  the shooter left no reason nor did he answer any questions.
In fact, the shooter had even murdered his own mother with four bullets while she slept. His mother had clung to a faint hope that her son could be 'fixed' or healed. 
In the end, her hopes were crushed as they ended with her life and the lives at Sandy Hook.

Newtown's tragedy reminds me of the loss of my friend; like the shooter, there is no explanation of his cancer. There seems to be no logical reason for him to pass away so  young...and for me to still be alive.

I hurt tonight, not for myself or for those of us who remain; but rather for his children. And I am left with a lingering question, 'Why do my children get to have more years and Christmases with me, but his do not?'

Making sense of such things on a personal level is very difficult; for it cannot be done outside of one's mind because every person must come to grips with what God is teaching at this moment.

Speaking of the theological truths and the lessons learned at such a time does absolutely nothing to ease the pain or relieve the grief.
Not now anyway; but there is comfort in knowing that God knows how bad we suffer and what we are feeling now because He Himself suffered with the loss of His Son.

The renown scientist Stephen Jay Gould once stated:
"[Humans are] a momentary cosmic accident that would never arise again if the tree of life could be replanted."

According to him and other modern scientists, humans are nothing more than complex organisms who are programmed by our selfish genes and natural desires to act purely out of our own self-interests. 
Well, I don't believe that and that isn't what I experience when a tragedy or pain strikes.
Instead, what I have observed has not been indifference but rather compassion and the out-pouring of generosity toward those affected.

Amid a painful loss, nearly every person in our secularized culture will recognize the value and worth of an individual human being.
This is a consequence and carry-over from the Judeo-Christian belief that all men have been created in the image of God.
And when a tragedy does strike or death steals away a life, people will instinctively turn to ministers and to faith; agnostics and atheists remain remarkable quiet because neither have been able to dry one tear or give a decent answer as to why these things happen.

Tragedy, pain, loss and death will often call our faith into question; but they also validate our faith in remarkable ways.

When we are suffering a personal loss of pain, the age-old question arises:
"Is this world, even a world that God will someday restore, worth the pain it involves?'

Ask the family of my friend who passed away and they will respond with a thunderous, 'YES!'

Perhaps God feels the same way about those who suffer on a fallen planet such as ours.
Only God Himself can answer whether or not this world is worth the suffering; and He has already spoken on the matter in the person of His Son.
You see, it is in His Son where we see God's greatest act of love intertwined with His greatest moment of grief.
Whether it is human beings or God Himself, grief is the place where love and pain converge.

Pain, disease, suffering and death are humanity's universal problems; no person nor society has a monopoly on the resulting tragedy from them. 
They intrude and often give way to a blame game of attempting to find fault with something or someone.

When a national tragedy strikes, liberals will blame the availability of guns. Conservatives will blame the lack of support for the police. Mental health officials will blame lack of resources to screen people so that the tragedy could be prevented; and Fundamentalists will blame the lack of prayer in schools.
Trying to assign blame to a tragedy does not solve the problem nor does it make it go away.

But the truth is that whether it is a national tragedy or a personal loss, the actual root cause can be summed up into one word: Fallenness. 
Few will name it as such, but we are fallen and we live in a fallen world. Things are not like they are supposed to be, they are skewed.
As such, this fallennes has given way and evidences itself as evil and violence, which has become so prevalent, most people are largely unconscious of it at all.

Pain and death cannot be conquered in this life because we are fallen; but it can be redeemed.
These are able to be redeemed only through Christ, God's own son.
For it is Him where pain loses its sting and death fails to have victory.
If you want redemption and peace, you can have it; but you must have it now, in this life and in this age.

My friend is gone; I cannot bring him back, nor would I attempt to do so because I would not want him to suffer any more. 
While I pray for a cure and for his family, I am thankful that I will see him again in eternity. 
And you can as well, by repenting and trusting by faith in Jesus Christ and accepting the free gift of the grace of God He has provided.

Until next time,  win one for the good guys.

Insight Into Suffering

Those West Virginia Hills

One of my grand heroes of the Christian faith is the author and apologist, C. S. Lewis.
In our time, he is probably most known for his series, 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' and Narnia series; due in large to the movies which have been produced in recent years.

Clive Staples Lewis

Yet, C. S. Lewis wrote many other works; gathering accolades from the theological world,
rivaling some of the finest works in history by placing the Christian faith in understandable terms without compromising the truth of Christ.

While I have enjoyed C. S. Lewis' works for many years, my favorite story involving him come from reality; it is from his own life and it involves horrible pain, rather than Christian bliss.

Joy Davidman

At age 53, C. S. Lewis met Joy Davidman Gersham, who would become his future wife.
Joy was the total opposite of Clive Staples; she was sassy, divorced, Jewish then claimed to be an atheist and afterwards converting to Christianity, and,  horror of horrors, she was a former card-carrying member of the American Communist Party.
Lewis described his marriage with her as 'exquisite rapture.'

After 40 months of marriage, Joy Lewis died of bone cancer; it was later stated that her husband thought of their marriage as 'unplanned bliss clouded with cancer.'
She was only 45 years old when she died; a crushing blow of severe grief would be that result for any person losing their spouse after enjoying such a blessed time together.

Maybe 'blessed bliss' is an  understatement; for their love story has been preserved in the theatrical production and later movie, 'Shadowlands.'

As in his joy, C. S. Lewis' grief was just as powerful.
A year after her death, in 1961, Lewis published, 'A Grief Observed' which was derived from notebooks he had kept during his bereavement over his wife's death.
In it, Lewis, who was world-known for his religious convictions and writings, describes being dealt such a blow by her death, that it shook him to the core and even caused him to question his own faith.

Immense grief, horrid tragedy and massive suffering will do that to even the most faithful Christian.
No person should ever feel guilty when asking God of their pain and tragedy which they do not understand; our brain placed against the infinite mind of God means that we will always have questions, for we cannot fully grasp all of which God commands.
When we do not understand or lack control over our situation in life, we certainly may have questions but we can also have full trust that God is guiding the situation to its rightful end.
But how can we be sure?

Well, I'm sure of God always bringing things to their rightful end because I have had that experience; the experience of Cancer adjusts your thinking and places an individual in a totally new and different mindset for the rest of their lives.

The story is told of theatrical play with many people sitting in the audience; one of which is hiding a transistor radio, discreetly listening with an hidden earpiece.
Suddenly, amid the scene on the stage, the man with the radio exclaims, 'The President has been shot!'
It was 22 November 1963 and he had announced the assassination of President Kennedy; in that moment, reality caused other things to become instantly superficial.

That is what the pain of Cancer, the physical suffering of my disease or even the emotional pain caused by those who once were called 'friends,' this is what theses things do in our lives.
These things and all suffering of all stripes interrupt our small world with a news flash from another world; readjusting our hearts and minds onto the things that we know to be more important.

Years ago, I began ministry in a trauma hospital; someone died every day.
That was a tough time and it is a tough ministry when your sole job is to attempt to shine God's light of truth into extremely emotional and painful situations.
Yet, that time taught me that a faith that truly matters, a faith which really means something and is worth adhering to, that faith should penetrate all areas of our lives - including and especially pain, death and suffering.

Ministry has taken many turns in my life over the years; first in hospitals, then on the streets, then in a local church and among the Armed Forces.
I have been thankful for the opportunity God has given me in them all; but today, surviving Cancer has given me an unique insight to suffering.
As such, I am able to 'herd words' together; isolating issues, pain, insights and thoughts directed toward those who are suffering or even dying.
These few words, I pray, make a difference.

In time, I believe that it has been a privilege to suffer and to be allowed to bring these insights to this space.
One thing I have discovered about ministry itself is that it tends to invite the sin of pride; especially the preaching ministry.
Every minister must continually remember that Pride is the mother of all sins; it was the Original Sin of Lucifer before the throne of God.
Yet, disease, pain and suffering has a way of humbling a person and keeping them humble as they recognize every breath as the gift of God which it is.

The insight and value of suffering is largely missed by the current generation of American Christians.
One reason is societal - this generation has never truly had to suffer for anything; rather, we have lived in an era of safety and plenty with no real concept of the hardships/ravishes of depression or war while we have enjoyed the cures and vaccines for once deadly diseases.
The shortsightedness of my generation is truly amazing; it would do us all well to look to the past and learn from our elders.
I have learned much from the past.
As one said, I am a 'Younger Dinosaur.'

Baptist Dinosaur - It has a 'Hard Shell.'

The description of a Younger Dinosaur? 
Well, it is a committed Christian, living in a secular age against the societal tide, who is fed by truth-telling songs and centuries-old literature.
By that definition, I'm glad I am a Dinosaur.

As such, a Christian is able to look around them in this life, during good and difficult times and see His beauty in the ordinary; observing and enjoying the designs by God's own hand.
And when pain hits, suffering comes or a death wreaks unexpected havoc, I see these things and know that God hasn't given up on the human race.
You see, our life in this world is something like a rehearsal for the next; pain causes us to refrain from viewing Earth as our final home.

So, the real questions of life about our suffering and pain is simply this:
'As a Christian, do I make believable the truth and promises of God?'
'Am I able to do this in times of Pain as well as Joy?'

Jesus did - but do I?
Do you?
Does the local Church?

I don't think so; I think we are far too selfish and concerned with our own pleasure rather than God's glory through all things.

Pleasure is a good thing in its proper context; it is God's own invention, not ours.
But life's delights, pleasures and joys are not good enough to last into eternity.
Our desires and delights are too small, for our vision is too limited; blind by the flashing lights of this age.

Yet, for all of its defects, this world still bares the marks of its original design, which anticipates the Creator's return in calling us to remember His intent.
And while the issue of pain and suffering may not be solved in this world nor in our personal lives; one day, pain, death and suffering will all be redeemed by the Lord.

And that is a day I am looking to with much hope.
Until next time, win one for the good guys.

Shaft of Hope

"Redemption is not perfection. The redeemed must realize their imperfections."

                                                                                                               ~ John Piper

Virginia Tech. Columbine. September 11th. Jonesboro, Arkansas. Newtown, Connecticut. 

A few years back, those names and dates would have been associated with education, or hope, or something other than what we now think when these names come to mind.
Today, it provokes thoughts of senseless violence, the suffering and death of innocents and needless tragedy.
It brings a sadness to our hearts and in some cases, our grief yields to a quiet, ceaseless anger.

Some turn to the government or some other agency which attempts to produce hope when they are going through a personal trial; this rarely works.
The failure occurs when we look for a material or physical solution for something that is spiritual in nature; suffering in this life is, at its root, spiritual.
Yet, there are times when a large response to suffering in a physical way does produce good things.

For example, our government's response to suffering is generally an attempt to eliminate it; as such, from this we now have vaccines for many diseases which once dealt a death blow to children.
Yet, as a consequence, new enemies developed; such as AIDS and Swine Flu. 
When added to wars, terrorism or economic instability, you quickly discover that well-intentioned efforts become similar to an unspiritual version of wack-a-mole.

Regardless of our pain or our suffering - through disease, death and even monumental personal tragedy which leaves scars none can see - it is comforting to know that God will

ultimately heal the planet of pain, suffering and death.
Until then, it is extremely difficult for us to reconcile our pain in this life with a loving God because what we are experiencing now isn't the same as what God had intended us to have on the Earth.

In such times, Christians will often turn the Word of God, and rightly so; yet, the Bible offers no guarantee that suffering will be removed from our lives.
It does however promise that pain, suffering and death will one day be redeemed.
Until that time in which the Lord Himself descends and does so, we can take some solace in the fact that suffering and loss does have a usefulness in this life - not just in the world to come.

Pain and suffering, whatever form it may take in  your life, provides a grand introspection - although we don't see it at the time.
As a result, emotional pain will reveal to us what is really important in life, causing us to shed some of the baggage we've carried around for years needlessly.

As suffering over a loss will ultimately cause you to become thankful for the time you had with a loved one and long for the day when you rejoin them in eternity, emotional pain will ultimately point to Christ, as our Healer and Redeemer.

Few realize that the Bible is one long story of Redemption; of God seeking that which has been lost and reconciling His people to Himself.
He is truly a God of Second Chances.

When Adam sinned as the federal head of the human race, God did not strike him down and start over with another. Instead, God provided a way for him to be redeemed.
Adam's son Cain killed his own brother; yet, God did not eliminate him off the earth nor did He allow him to become a marked man. Cain was spared his life and sent away into the east.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were fully blessed and inherited the Covenant Promise of God; this, in spite of their lives or deception.
God called Moses to lead His people; who then was hesitant. 
David was lusty enough for his eyes to get steamy while watching another man's wife take a bath; yet, Bathsheba isn't what David is remembered for in Israel today - instead, it was his rock solid repentance.

Amazingly, when you read the Bible you will find within its pages a rather large assortment of liars, cheaters, adulterers and murderers.
And the one over-arching theme with every story of every person is rescue; then the rescue is followed by hope.

From what is in Scripture, we learn that when God seems absent and we are suffering, it is up to us to show His presence. Often in these times of pain, the world only knows God and His truth through the witness of His followers.
If we were to act on our natural instinct, we would flee suffering every time.
But sometimes, there is no easy escape and at times, we should not want to escape because the redeemed product is better than the fallen mess which once existed.

Like Jesus, Christians are not exempt from suffering.
Yet, the trials we endure become a major opportunity for grace; a chance for God to reveal Himself in a real and prolific way through our lives.

Repeatedly in spiritual surveys with individual Christians, people report growing more spiritually when they have endured a time of suffering, pain, loss or crisis.
This teaches us that there is a spiritual value in our emotional or physical suffering; now, suffering and pain certainly were not a part of God's original plan, but as a redemptive transformation which takes place amid a trial, God allows us to find something greater and more worthy than just simply the pain of darkness.

For God offers us a ray of hope, a bright shaft of light shining through all our pain and turmoil in the present, redeeming it into something greater that we can see in the moment.
His hands remain open and His arms wide; and as we begin to look at Him, His redeeming grace begins to transform our suffering and pain into something He can use through your life to provide hope and truth to others as He heals you.

You see, we are too concerned in life with how things will turn out.
God, on the other hand, is far more concerned with how you and I will turn out.

And if you are trusting Him amid your trials and triumphs, I can promise you things will turn out just fine in the end.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.