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on Tuesday, August 16, 2011
“How can a good, all-powerful and loving God allow evil to exist in our world?”
We have all heard the question asked a thousand times. I recently wrestled with this topic walking through Auschwitz, a concentration/death camp, where hundreds of thousands of Jewish families were stripped naked, brutually murdered, and dumped into unmarked graves. Their belongings, including hair were then sold to fuel the Natzi war machine. Children and expecting mothers received no special treatment and while under the impression they were headed to take showers, they instead experienced agonizing suffocation in gas chambers. God is good? Can we believe that a good God is compatible with the horrors of not only Auschwitz, but the rest of history? Should we accept that God?
Part 1: The Beginning “Why would God allow even the possibility of evil to begin with?”
God created Adam and Eve perfect, blessed them with an abundant world and then did something incredibly stupid. God gave mankind a choice. “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garen you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Gen 2:16-17) The first idea we must wrestle with in understanding the existence of evil is our choice.
Why the choice?
'Chatty Cathy' was a doll created in the 1960's. It revolutionized the toy industry in many ways and experienced great financial success. The unique thing about 'Chatty Cathy' was a string located on her upper back that when pulled repeated several different phrases such as 'I love you.' Let's say you own a 'Chatty Cathy' doll. You pull Chatty Cathy's string, and without fail the doll cries out, 'I love you!' Why doesn't that mean anything to you? You want love, and this doll gives it out unconditionally right?
With humanity God wanted a relationship, God wanted sons, God wanted daughters. At the very core of this relationship is choice. God never called an angel His son. 'Chatty Cathy' does not choose to love anyone, it is simply programmed to do so. God did not want a whole bunch of Chatty Cathy dolls who said 'i love you' simply because we had to. To be human is to be able to choose. Adam chose wrongly, he chose rebellion against God. Adam chose to eat of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, violate God's commandment, and thus evil entered into our world. With the possibility of us intimately knowing God unlike any other creature, there was also the possibility for us to reject God.
With choices there are also consequences, and right now the world of evil which we experience is a consequence inherited from Adam's choice. The choice allowed sin to enter our world and in every way it corrupted the very nature of man as well as the world we live in.
While this may help us wrestle with the existence of evil, the continuance of evil is still a question. Ok so mankind screwed up, but why doesn't God just take care of it? A question I will attempt to address in my next blog post.
We have all heard the question asked a thousand times. I recently wrestled with this topic walking through Auschwitz, a concentration/death camp, where hundreds of thousands of Jewish families were stripped naked, brutually murdered, and dumped into unmarked graves. Their belongings, including hair were then sold to fuel the Natzi war machine. Children and expecting mothers received no special treatment and while under the impression they were headed to take showers, they instead experienced agonizing suffocation in gas chambers. God is good? Can we believe that a good God is compatible with the horrors of not only Auschwitz, but the rest of history? Should we accept that God?
Part 1: The Beginning “Why would God allow even the possibility of evil to begin with?”
God created Adam and Eve perfect, blessed them with an abundant world and then did something incredibly stupid. God gave mankind a choice. “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garen you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Gen 2:16-17) The first idea we must wrestle with in understanding the existence of evil is our choice.
Why the choice?
'Chatty Cathy' was a doll created in the 1960's. It revolutionized the toy industry in many ways and experienced great financial success. The unique thing about 'Chatty Cathy' was a string located on her upper back that when pulled repeated several different phrases such as 'I love you.' Let's say you own a 'Chatty Cathy' doll. You pull Chatty Cathy's string, and without fail the doll cries out, 'I love you!' Why doesn't that mean anything to you? You want love, and this doll gives it out unconditionally right?
With humanity God wanted a relationship, God wanted sons, God wanted daughters. At the very core of this relationship is choice. God never called an angel His son. 'Chatty Cathy' does not choose to love anyone, it is simply programmed to do so. God did not want a whole bunch of Chatty Cathy dolls who said 'i love you' simply because we had to. To be human is to be able to choose. Adam chose wrongly, he chose rebellion against God. Adam chose to eat of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, violate God's commandment, and thus evil entered into our world. With the possibility of us intimately knowing God unlike any other creature, there was also the possibility for us to reject God.
With choices there are also consequences, and right now the world of evil which we experience is a consequence inherited from Adam's choice. The choice allowed sin to enter our world and in every way it corrupted the very nature of man as well as the world we live in.
While this may help us wrestle with the existence of evil, the continuance of evil is still a question. Ok so mankind screwed up, but why doesn't God just take care of it? A question I will attempt to address in my next blog post.
on Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Pride passionately wants you to look righteous, but humility passionately wants you to be righteous.
Pride inevitably stunts, defeats growth, for when we are prideful, we care about us, only us, and usually others perceptions of us. Man, pride would rather have you being 'right' than growing. Pride skews proper vision, not humility. Pride collides with reality, but humility alligns, embraces it. In my mind pride is always exaggerating the good and the accomplishments attributing their existence to some sort of deep inner genius that overflowed out my very being. However, when I run into the bad things, into my failures, then pride is ever present to rationalize or mostly just deny any evident flaws, attributing their existence (or lack there of) to everyone else.
I create a facade, the great facade, the way I want to be seen. As soon as someone pokes a hole in my great facade and I realize that the image I wish to portray has been breached, then I get defensive. Honestly I spend more time nurturing my facade than I do actually nurturing my inner broken man. If I cared as much about my heart changing as I did about appearing a changed man then God could have infinite room to grow me.
I pray the next time a friend of mine comes to me and I hear that painful twinge of truth, the next time instead of resisting the truth because it makes me look bad, I will embrace truth knowing that it's revelation will make me more like Jesus.
We will find humility as we continue to embrance and recognize God's view of us, as well as God's mercy towards us.
Humility isn't demeaning, it's freeing. Throughout my life it was never humility which caused me frustration, inner turmoil, impatience and divisions. No, it was my pride that produced all that!
Pride always thinks about you, but humility always thinks about Jesus.
Pride inevitably stunts, defeats growth, for when we are prideful, we care about us, only us, and usually others perceptions of us. Man, pride would rather have you being 'right' than growing. Pride skews proper vision, not humility. Pride collides with reality, but humility alligns, embraces it. In my mind pride is always exaggerating the good and the accomplishments attributing their existence to some sort of deep inner genius that overflowed out my very being. However, when I run into the bad things, into my failures, then pride is ever present to rationalize or mostly just deny any evident flaws, attributing their existence (or lack there of) to everyone else.
I create a facade, the great facade, the way I want to be seen. As soon as someone pokes a hole in my great facade and I realize that the image I wish to portray has been breached, then I get defensive. Honestly I spend more time nurturing my facade than I do actually nurturing my inner broken man. If I cared as much about my heart changing as I did about appearing a changed man then God could have infinite room to grow me.
I pray the next time a friend of mine comes to me and I hear that painful twinge of truth, the next time instead of resisting the truth because it makes me look bad, I will embrace truth knowing that it's revelation will make me more like Jesus.
We will find humility as we continue to embrance and recognize God's view of us, as well as God's mercy towards us.
Humility isn't demeaning, it's freeing. Throughout my life it was never humility which caused me frustration, inner turmoil, impatience and divisions. No, it was my pride that produced all that!
Pride always thinks about you, but humility always thinks about Jesus.
on Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Everyone asks me 'how was Poland.' It is difficult for me to have that conversation (especially since most want a 30-60 second answer). It is difficult because of how much God accomplished within me and through me in Poland. It is difficult because honestly sometimes I don't even know what happened. What I do know is that I came head to head with more of my own inadequacy than perhaps ever before, yet within my inadequacy found God's grace ever prevalent, ever matching my failures and consistent through crisis.
The first month was spent training in Czech, being trained as interns with JosiahVenture ministries and running around Prague until my legs felt like Jello. After this we spend nearly three weeks traveling Poland spreading the word about the English Camps we were soon to teach and encouraging students to attend. We spoke in schools and churches and rode on more trains that I care to remember, but within this experience I found fellowship with my team and encouragement as they grew unto the Lord. The last month was spent preparing and then engaging with the Polish Youth at the English Camps. We participated in two of these Camps and met some of the most fascinating and incredible kids. During the camps we would have roughly 2 hours of English lessons, then we would play games, eat, and do an evening program. The evening program consists of worship, a sermon and then discussion groups revolving around the sermon.
In Poland- We saw God's Spirit show up and work through our team bringing youth to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and I believe that through us and despite of us God found glory as well as new family members as we preached the gospel.
In Me- I found an even deeper understanding of God's gospel, and a boldness with my faith I have perhaps never experienced before. I found a deeply rooted pride that when revealed disgusted even myself. I found a God that does not simply hold an exclusive allegiance to America and is at work in Poland raising up godly men and women. I always knew God is everywhere, but it is something else to see Him in action on the other side of the world.
Perhaps this post is a little bit choppy and random, but that is probably because the whole experience is choppy in my brain. What I do know is that God has forever changed me through this mission trip and that I will always have a heart for Poland and it's people.
The first month was spent training in Czech, being trained as interns with JosiahVenture ministries and running around Prague until my legs felt like Jello. After this we spend nearly three weeks traveling Poland spreading the word about the English Camps we were soon to teach and encouraging students to attend. We spoke in schools and churches and rode on more trains that I care to remember, but within this experience I found fellowship with my team and encouragement as they grew unto the Lord. The last month was spent preparing and then engaging with the Polish Youth at the English Camps. We participated in two of these Camps and met some of the most fascinating and incredible kids. During the camps we would have roughly 2 hours of English lessons, then we would play games, eat, and do an evening program. The evening program consists of worship, a sermon and then discussion groups revolving around the sermon.
In Poland- We saw God's Spirit show up and work through our team bringing youth to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and I believe that through us and despite of us God found glory as well as new family members as we preached the gospel.
In Me- I found an even deeper understanding of God's gospel, and a boldness with my faith I have perhaps never experienced before. I found a deeply rooted pride that when revealed disgusted even myself. I found a God that does not simply hold an exclusive allegiance to America and is at work in Poland raising up godly men and women. I always knew God is everywhere, but it is something else to see Him in action on the other side of the world.
Perhaps this post is a little bit choppy and random, but that is probably because the whole experience is choppy in my brain. What I do know is that God has forever changed me through this mission trip and that I will always have a heart for Poland and it's people.
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