The Goodness of God...in the face of suffering

Sometimes it takes one who has been muddied up for so long, to be truly appreciative of cleanliness, when it comes.

I think this is the story behind Randy Alcorns new book, The Goodness of God: Assurance of Purpose in the Midst of Suffering. I happen to know that for a long while in 2007 he was suffering from depression. The school of suffering can teach you more things than the school of pleasure I believe, so perhaps this book is a manifesting of the wisdom he gained through those times. Here is a blip from his book.

Jesus Christ’s life and death demonstrate that God has never dished out any suffering he hasn’t taken on himself.
His death on the cross is God’s answer to the question, “Why don’t you do something about evil?” God allowed Jesus’ temporary suffering so he could prevent our eternal suffering . . .
God wrote the script of this drama of redemption long before Satan, demons, Adam and Eve—and you and I—took the stage. And from the beginning, he knew that the utterly spectacular ending would make the dark middle worth it. Paul writes, “This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Timothy 1:9). How could God give us grace before our lives began, even before the universe itself existed? Only because God knew and determined in advance the work of Christ for us on the cross.
The story’s low point is the death of Jesus, yet this low point is the basis upon which he will one day, in a dramatic resolution to the story, return to establish his eternal kingdom on Earth. (pp. 44-45)

The question I have for you readers is this:

How does suffering make sense as a Christian? Does it make sense that a non-Christian would get mad at God when he gets cancer, receives news of his dead family member, etc?

If our happiness in life were the goal, it would TOTALLY make sense to be mad at God through tough times, but to know that God brings us through those times for a reason, is the bit of hope I can really chomp onto. This is why Paul calls our struggles “momentary”. They won’t linger, and even if they do, and breathe down your neck all the way to the grave, you have an inheritance from being a son or daughter of God (if you have put your life faith in Christ) mainly, heaven.

What's wrong with bosses?

As usual, my writings are fueled from personal experiences throughout the day. Today I had a little frustration with my director, but it slowly sizzled away after I realized something. I'll share that in a bit.

First, what's with all the guff we give our piers? It's so easy to talk down about them, to criticize, and really not respect those over us. Why? You may answer, "were rebellious, we were born to do that" or "they just really aren't good supervisors" or even "they deserve it, mine treats me like crap!" So yeah, everyone is a critic. It's easier to criticize and find something wrong than it is to admonish, and encourage somebody (while I'm on the topic, compliment somebody who is in the room with you right now). I would argue there might be something underlying our views of supervisors and bosses. Let me ask you another question...what is it about leaders that we demand so much from them? Why all of a sudden when someone increases in leadership, we correspondingly increase our expectations for them. I have no answer except this suggestion. We are biologically wired to expect much from leaders! They're leaders! They have responsibilities over others which requires that they have better skills than us, better assets, better minds..... I would further assert that we are hard-wired to behold "perfect" leadership. We desire it...we don't like it when our leaders fail us, or even worse when they're failures affect us. We get a pay cut, we get the grief, or we get more responsibilities and you know what happens....the amount of gossipping that goes on behind that boss's back increases....and its not good things were saying. We sub-consciously expect perfection.

I realized this as I got frustrated. I sat and I thought (as I often do at work in a rather unproductful manner) "Well maybe this guy has never been officially mentored in his position...maybe he really doesn't know what's going on and so he has this austere cold front that makes me feel like I'm the fool and insulates him in being a boss." My expectations for him were automatically very high.

I'm realizing more and more I'm alive, there is only one person in this universe that can quench my desires for perfection, for betterness, for an improved life-style....Jesus Christ. "Oh how cliche Luke..." Oh I mean it with all my heart!! Take for example my lens for viewing reality, mainly the Bible. I take the Bible to be infallibly true, and I trust it. If what it says is true, that God exists, He created the earth, He created it to be sufficient for us, but for His Glory made this earth temporal, and told me that everything in this world has, is but an echo of things to come, including leadership (and I understand if you don't share my worldview, this won't make a bit of sense). So many things will come to its purposed climax, in the world to come after Jesus comes, or I die (which ever comes first). Joy will be fulfilled in heaven (by things to come, I meant this, heaven), the task of work God gave to Adam will be fulfilled in heaven, ultimate love will be fulfilled (in part) by the receiving of the gift of heaven to all who believe in Jesus, and even leadership itself will be fulfilled in heaven when Jesus Christ is named King over the entire earth, and rules in perfection! You see we are actually hard-wired to be ruled over....not in tyranny, not in wrath, or in injustice....but with a ruler who is perfect! Who loves perfectly! Who gives perfectly! Who will govern our lives perfectly!

So remember this....when your boss is giving you a hard time, or you are giving him/her a hard time, and you get frustrated......your boss is an echo of things to come, and is made to remind you of the hierarchy that God hard-wired in you, that will only find its satisfaction in Jesus Christ!

That was a lot I know....leave comments for questions...I'll happily answer them!

PS - My wife added an interesting perspective. She basically added a synomym for the way I was using the term "hard-wired" in terms of desiring perfection. That synonym in Bible-speak is the phrase "image of God". The Bible says we are created in the image of God, and those who don't believe in Christ Jesus simply don't realize that they were created after the image of God (which is why its not that outlandish when Jesus claimed to be God when he walked this earth). We who know this, accept it and embrace it....we pursue being the image of God, the spiritual walk.