Tag: christianity

How to Overcome Suffering

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

bear

There is a way to overcome suffering.  There’s a path that you can follow which will lead to the overcoming of your struggle against sin; your dealing with the meanness of others; your chronic physical pain; your continual facing of financial trouble; your estranged relationship(s); your past bad decisions that keep coming up to bite you in the present; your constant feeling of angst about the state of the world’s great needs and problems; your Anfechtung (spiritual oppression and depression); and, a hundred other reasons for suffering in this broken old world.  The road ahead, however, will be completely counter-intuitive to how you might currently be thinking about overcoming suffering.  It might be so far off your radar that you might just discard what I’m about to say to you.

Before I get to that, I’ll just say first that suffering is endemic to the human condition.  Everyone suffers.  Since we live in a fallen world, there is not one person who hasn’t suffered in some way, whether it is physical, spiritual, mental, or emotional.  None of us will ever be immune to affliction.  There is no way to insulate yourself from pain.  If you are not currently suffering in some way, it just means that you are either coming off a time of hardship or are about to enter a new period of distress.

Holiness and godliness don’t keep suffering at bay.  In fact, the Lord Jesus himself promised us that following him will involve a kind of suffering that those who are not Christians will never face.  “While you are in this world, you will have to suffer,” are the blunt words of Christ to his disciples (John 16:33).  The Apostle Peter, who was part of Christ’s inner circle of followers, came to understand this reality.  “Dear friends, don’t be surprised or shocked that you are going through testing that is like walking through fire.  Be glad for the chance to suffer as Christ suffered” (1 Peter 4:12).  Peter understood that all Christians are not above their Master.  If Christ suffered, his followers will suffer, as well.

James, the Lord’s brother, understood that everyone faces difficulty.  But he wisely discerned that suffering can become a teacher for the Christian.  “My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble.  You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested” (James 1:2).  All the adversity the Christian faces are the means of producing maturity, strengthening faith, and developing patience.

The Apostle Paul, a man who was more acquainted with suffering than any follower of Jesus in history, had this to say about all those terrible circumstances: “Anyone who belongs to Christ Jesus and wants to live right will have trouble from others” (2 Timothy 3:12).  “We gladly suffer, because we know that suffering helps us to endure.  And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope that will never disappoint us” (Romans 5:3-5). “God has generously granted you the privilege, not only of believing in Christ but also of suffering for Christ’s sake” (Philippians 1:29).

The New Testament writers have a perspective on suffering which is very different than how we typically think of it.  Yes, we will have to suffer.  It’s part of being in the world.  Yet, Jesus said, “but cheer up! I have defeated the world” (John 16:33, Contemporary English Version).  Or, in another translation, “In the world you have distress. But be encouraged! I have conquered the world” (Common English Bible).  Yet another translation, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (New International Version).

Now, let’s wheel back around to the overcoming of suffering.  Here is the truth and the practice we must adopt when it comes to suffering:  the truth about overcoming suffering comes not from us, but through Christ; and, the practice of overcoming suffering doesn’t come from fighting against it but by sitting with it and learning from it.

Okay, let me state this again in a different way.  Jesus has overcome the world through his death, resurrection, and ascension.  On the cross, he has absorbed all the sin and suffering of everyone.  Your suffering, then, might hurt and it might be senseless, but no matter it’s source, that suffering will always rule over you unless you invite it to take a seat with you and have a conversation with it.

Let me say it another way, and to the point: Quit fighting against your suffering. Stop kicking and screaming long enough to look your suffering square in the face and learn from it.

In other words, your suffering is trying to tell you something.  But if you keep taking the stance of a pugilist trying to punch it away, it will just keep moving forward at you and never topple.  You can’t beat suffering.  You can only learn from it.  And you’ll only learn from it, even overcome it, when you embrace it.  So, here’s the counter-intuitive, counter-cultural practice that you might not like and might think I’m off my rocker for suggesting: Submit to suffering.  Yes, I will say it again: Submit to suffering.

Don’t hear what I’m not saying.  I’m not trying to sanitize your troubles, adverse circumstances, or even your terrible trauma.  Evil is evil, bad is bad, and no amount of saying otherwise will change the leopard’s spots.  However, only through submitting to the process of what suffering teaches us will we ever have power over it.

Perhaps an illustration is in order.  Let’s liken suffering to encountering a bear in the wilderness.  The National Park Service gives us this advice if facing a bear while out hiking:

“Once a bear has noticed you and is paying attention to you, these strategies can help prevent the situation from escalating.

  • Identify yourself by talking calmly so the bear knows you are a human and not a prey animal. Remain still; stand your ground but slowly wave your arms. Help the bear recognize you as a human. It may come closer or stand on its hind legs to get a better look or smell. A standing bear is usually curious, not threatening.
  • Stay calm and remember that most bears do not want to attack you; they usually just want to be left alone. Bears may bluff their way out of an encounter by charging and then turning away at the last second. Bears may also react defensively by woofing, yawning, salivating, growling, snapping their jaws, and laying their ears back. Continue to talk to the bear in low tones; this will help you stay calmer, and it won’t be threatening to the bear. A scream or sudden movement may trigger an attack. Never imitate bear sounds or make a high-pitched squeal.
  • Hike and travel in groups. Groups of people are usually noisier and smellier than a single person. Therefore, bears often become aware of groups of people at greater distances, and because of their cumulative size, groups are also intimidating to bears.
  • If the bear is stationary, move away slowly and sideways; this allows you to keep an eye on the bear and avoid tripping. Moving sideways is also non-threatening to bears. Do NOT run, but if the bear follows, stop and hold your ground. Bears can run as fast as a racehorse both uphill and down. Like dogs, they will chase fleeing animals. Do NOT climb a tree. Both grizzlies and black bears can climb trees.”

Fighting suffering is about as useful as taking on a bear.  Bears, like suffering, can be dangerous.  We don’t blame bears if they act like bears.  Likewise, we ought not to be surprised when suffering hurts.  But we can learn a lot about suffering and even come to the point of oddly admiring it for it’s large ability to teach us things we would not learn otherwise.

I suggest we treat suffering like facing a bear in the wilderness of trouble.  Calmly identify yourself.  Talk in low tones to your suffering.  That’s right, speak to it.  Remember who you are.  You belong to God.  Treat suffering as if it is curious about you.  For God’s sake, stay calm.  Doing the big freak-out is only going to encourage suffering to do damage.  If you’re alone, that’s not good.  Walking with others in Christian community is one of the best practices of the Christian life.  Suffering is intimidated by groups of people encouraging one another and showing hospitality to each other.  Keep your eye on suffering.  Don’t ignore it, or pretend it isn’t there.  Don’t run.  Face suffering.  Keep it in front of you.  It will pass, but you must be patient and calm.  Once it is gone, then you can reflect on what happened and debrief with others about the experience.

The path to overcoming suffering is to acknowledge it, respect it, submit to it, and let it pass.  Then, you will be able to consider “it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).

Stop fighting.  Start maturing.  Stop going it alone.  Start living in vital and vulnerable community.  Stop being a martyr.  Start letting the martyrdom of Christ be your center of life.  Stop talking.  Start listening.  Stop treating your suffering as an adversary.  Start talking to suffering as a companion to learn from.

Luke 1:68-79

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            When I was in graduate school at a public university some years back, I was describing for my class a New Testament view of Jesus and the church’s consistent historic teaching about him.  One of my classmates spoke up and said to me, “But you don’t really believe all that, right?”  Well, actually, I really do believe all the things concerning Jesus accounted for us in the Gospels.  Why?  Because I have found the historicity of Jesus from an objective ground of evidence as reliable, as well as a subjective witness within that resonates as true.  Christians call this witness within the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
 
            Old Zechariah experienced this firsthand.  The Holy Spirit came upon him and he uttered some objective prophecy over his newborn son, John that rang exultingly true within his subjective hopeful soul:  “You, my son, will go ahead of the Lord to get everything ready for him.  You will tell his people that they can be saved when their sins are forgiven.  God’s love and kindness will shine upon us like the sun that rises in the sky.  On us who live in the dark shadow of death this light will shine to guide us into a life of peace.”
 
            Indeed, this is exactly what John the Baptist did in his ministry.  When the Spirit resonates with us and testifies to the truth of Jesus, we can find genuine deliverance from sin, death, and hell, as well as have the confidence to proclaim the name of Jesus as Savior and King.  The objective and subjective aspects are both needed:  objective evidence alone is really nothing more than facts; subjective witness alone without evidence is just gut feeling; but the objective and subjective together presents the person and work of Christ with truth and grace, fact and flavor, mind and heart, in a compelling blend of Christianity for all people.
 

 

            Praise to you, Almighty God, because you have come to save your people.  Thank you for delivering me through your Son, the Lord Jesus, and giving me your Holy Spirit.  May the confidence I have with faith, hope, and love be used for your glory and honor.  Amen.

A Short Primer on Christianity

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
           It perhaps goes without saying, but, nevertheless, really does need to be said explicitly:  Christianity is and revolves around the person of Jesus Christ.  Anything less is not Christianity.  Christ is the second person of the Trinity, the triune God, with the Father and the Spirit – three persons, one God.  God the Father determined that in all things Christ would have preeminence (Colossians 1:18).  Therefore, the equal and full realities of Christ’s humanity and deity are of central importance.
 
            Christ’s humanity should not be suppressed, ignored, or diminished in order to protect his deity.  Christ’s deity must never be marginalized in order to bring his humanity to the fore.  Both the deity and humanity of Jesus must be carefully maintained at all times.  To do less is not Christianity.
 
            Only through this God-Man, Jesus, could redemption from an empty sinful way of life be accomplished for us.  This union of humanity and deity in Jesus alone is able to secure a new and fresh relationship with God, and do away with alienation, hate, death, and eternal torment.
 
            Jesus Christ is the ultimate prophet.  He has revealed to us the will of God for our salvation.  Christ is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).  Jesus has promised that the truth will set us free (John 8:32; 1 John 5:9-13).  Freedom involves knowledge, honesty, and decisions of faith, hope, and love whereby the truth is applied in one’s life.
 
            Jesus Christ is the ultimate priest.  He is the once-for-all offering as a sacrifice to atone for our sinfulness, to reconcile us to God, and now continually makes intercession for us (Romans 5:8-10; Hebrews 4:14, 5:6, 7:23-27, 9:11-12; 1 John 2:1).  As our representative, and the pioneer of our salvation, Jesus has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3; 2 Peter 1:3).
 
            Jesus Christ is the universal King.  He is the rightful Ruler of all things (Matthew 21:5; John 18:36-37; Ephesians 1:20-23; Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 1:5).  Jesus possesses all authority in heaven and on earth, and is Supreme over the Church.  He is able to make all things work together for good in life of his people (Romans 8:28-29).
 
            The church, therefore, is to do everything by completely wrapping herself around the person and work of Jesus Christ.  We are to continually unbend ourselves to conformity with prevailing cultural mores, and, instead, be thoroughly transformed through the complete renovation of our minds (Romans 12:1-2).  Our true spiritual act of worship in the church is to exalt the name of Jesus, praise Christ’s holy name, and enamor ourselves with his incredible grace, mercy, and peace.
 
            What this means, then, is that Christianity is not about being a particular nationality or ethnicity; is not merely a belief system; and, is not only an assent to certain facts and knowledge.  Rather, Christianity is a living relationship with Jesus, our Savior, Lord, Teacher, and Healer.  Christ scandalously died through an instrument of torture, the cross, which has become for us, ironically, our badge of honor and identity.  In short, since Jesus lived, died, and rose from death, we, too, as Christians, die to ourselves and live into a new life secured for us by Christ.  Through faith in this very unique God-Man, we are saved.
 

 

            This makes the church the Community of the Redeemed, a special people who are different than all other people because our lives are totally centered round Jesus.  Anything less is neither church, nor Christianity.  Christians are people secure in their identity, bold in their witness of Jesus, and concerned to serve the world in the words and ways of Christ, through the power of God’s Holy Spirit.  May it be so.

Cultural Christianity

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            It is usually a dubious action to place adjectives in front of the noun “Christianity.”  The actual word can stand alone quite well on its own without any modifiers in place.  But sometimes it might be appropriate to do so, for no other reason than to point out the oxymoronic nature of some of Christianity’s adherents.  “Cultural Christianity” ends up being something like “Grape Nuts” which, in reality, is neither grapes nor nuts.
 
            Which gets us to the heart of the issue:  cultural Christianity is not really Christianity at all, and isn’t even distinctively Christian in its actual culture.  Okay, some of you are getting impatient and want me to say it plainly.  So here it is:  just because someone shows up as a church attender doesn’t make them a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes a person a car.  A nice person isn’t necessarily a Christian just because he/she is pleasant to be around.  An atheist isn’t necessarily unethical or immoral just because he/she is an atheist. 
 
            One of the parables of Jesus that was a complete head-scratcher for his disciples was the one about the sower who went out to sow seed.  They just did not get what the heck Christ was saying because the disciples were too steeped in a cultural understanding of their religious practice and belief.  So, Jesus made the meaning of the parable of the sower scattering seed a bit more understandable for them: 
 
“The seed is the word of God.  Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.  Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root.  They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.  The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.  But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering, produce a crop” (Luke 8:11-15).
 
All four scenarios of the seed involve hearing the word of God.  But, here is the scandal that brought Jesus some derision:  only the seed that retained what it heard and produced a crop is real true genuine authentic belief.  This is not a parable from Jesus about differing levels of maturity among Christians.  Nope, this is declaration from Jesus that out of the four who heard, only one proved to be the real deal.  To put it another way:  three out of the four people were cultural Christians, which really meant they were not Christians at all.  They looked and acted like Christians enough to slide by as identified believers for a while, but the message never really took; it didn’t stick.
 
            At this point we could become cynical and pessimistic about the current Christian climate in the West.  If only three out of four people are really Christians, then what hope is there?  Am I in or out?  Are you questioning others’ salvation?  Instead, we need to look at this from a different angle.  If three out of four times the seed doesn’t take root and grow into genuine belief, then we keep scattering the seed!  A person who hears but doesn’t actually believe doesn’t mean that it is a one-and-done situation.  In fact, the average person needs to hear the gospel of grace proclaimed anywhere from five to twenty-five times from several different people before the word of God sticks, they take root in the true soil of belief, and end up growing up into mature faith.
 
            The real aim of Christ’s parable was to not only unmask the cultural religion that was rampant, but to encourage the disciples to scatter the seed, to keep proclaiming the word of God over and over and over again in all kinds of places, all over the world.  They were not to give up because the continual proclamation of good news will eventually result in a massive harvest.
 

 

            So, be patient.  Keep embodying the message of Christ.  Continue speaking of Jesus everywhere to everyone.  Persevere in praying for those within and without the church who need the redeeming work of Jesus Christ.  Do not give up.