Had lunch with a friend yesterday...we got to talking about how comfortable and safe our lives are compared to others in the world. I live a comfortable and safe life. I guard that. I like to think that it's "God's best," but recently I've started to wonder if that's really the case. I look at the lives of the saints--Francis, Bonhoeffer, Mother Teresa; contemporaries like Shane Claiborne and others in this new monasticism...and I see a quality of life that sparkles. It catches my attention and urges me to join in. But where to begin?
In an email I received from Christianity Today, Camerin Courtney wrote...
"It's one of the conundrums of living in our modern age: We want to make a difference in the world, but often we don't know how.
We're hyper-aware of the problems in our broken world; our televisions, newspapers, and internet connections bring us daily news about genocide on the other side of the planet and school shootings in our own country's heartland. In the face of so much brokenness and pain, we can feel too powerless, too busy, too overwhelmed by the magnitude of the need.
And yet, as Christians we're called to be Christ's hands and feet bringing help and hope to a broken world. We who have the only power to truly change lives living within us have this awesome responsibility and privilege. "
Shane Claiborne tells about a newspaper cartoon he read once...Two people are talking, and one remarks that he'd like to know why God allows so much suffering in the world. The other says,
"So why don't you ask him?"
"Well, I'm afraid."
"Why?"
"I'm afraid he'll ask me the same question."
God, why do you allow all of this suffering? Why don't you do something about it?
Why don't you do something about it?
Good question.
In an email I received from Christianity Today, Camerin Courtney wrote...
"It's one of the conundrums of living in our modern age: We want to make a difference in the world, but often we don't know how.
We're hyper-aware of the problems in our broken world; our televisions, newspapers, and internet connections bring us daily news about genocide on the other side of the planet and school shootings in our own country's heartland. In the face of so much brokenness and pain, we can feel too powerless, too busy, too overwhelmed by the magnitude of the need.
And yet, as Christians we're called to be Christ's hands and feet bringing help and hope to a broken world. We who have the only power to truly change lives living within us have this awesome responsibility and privilege. "
Shane Claiborne tells about a newspaper cartoon he read once...Two people are talking, and one remarks that he'd like to know why God allows so much suffering in the world. The other says,
"So why don't you ask him?"
"Well, I'm afraid."
"Why?"
"I'm afraid he'll ask me the same question."
God, why do you allow all of this suffering? Why don't you do something about it?
Why don't you do something about it?
Good question.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment