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Posts Tagged ‘theology’

Honest to God #3…when faith and hope are lost…

04 Jan

His son is an adorable little boy…a precious gift from God. Like most little boys, his son is sweet and loving one minute…yet uncontrollably mischievous the next.

But his son is not like most other little boys. His son was born with a chromosomal deficiency which results in autism, ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder, sensory processing disorder, speech delay, and countless behavioral challenges. His son is not like most other little boys, since there are only 300 other children in the world with this disorder.

It is no surprise that his faith and hope seem lost. It’s hard to have faith in a God who allows such things as chromosomal deficiencies. It’s hard to grasp that single thread of hope, when a steel cable seems vital for a family’s survival.

I’ve personally learned not to blame God for what some wrongly consider to be “mistakes” of nature. My friend’s son is not a mistake…he’s a miracle. I believe in a God who created the world through evolution. And I find it absolutely amazing that the cells, chromosomes, and DNA strains that God created have combined and evolved into these miraculous beings we call human.

Obviously, over the evolving generations some anomalies and abnormalities have occurred. It is up to each of us as to whether we consider these anomalies to be miracles or mistakes. (I might ask if Elizabeth Taylor’s violet eyes were a mistake…since violet eyes are more of an anomaly than autism.) My friend’s son is a miracle…to consider him as anything else would be a mistake.

I don’t worry about my friend’s fragile thread of faith…surely God understands the frustration and concerns which continually flood the caregivers of special needs children. I worry about his desperate need for hope. His son’s chromosomal deficiency is not some silly phrase that will be outgrown in time. The deficiency is lifelong. The medical community doesn’t offer much hope. The educational community struggles to offer guidance and hope, but funds are sorely lacking.

My friend has promised to read this posting. I’m sure he anticipates my providing him with more hope than I’ve been able to provide here. Maybe you have a few words of hope to share with him. If so…please comment. He’ll be waiting…

 
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Posted in New Life

 

HONEST TO GOD #1 …a river without banks…

03 Oct

HONEST TO GOD
From time to time, I’d like to use my blog as a venue to share my own personal theological and political thoughts. If you’re not interested in these posts (and who would blame you!) please feel free to ignore those classified as “Honest to God.” And if you have questions or suggestions, please comment…discussion can be fun and enlightening.

HONEST TO GOD #1
…a river without banks…

A proverbial saying declares that “a river without banks is a swamp.” The image is quite vivid I suppose, for those who live near the Mississippi River and who have seen their farmland turned into a swamp by demolished levies.

Some might consider my progressively liberal theology to be a murky, muddy swamp-like spiritual pool. But I still have some banks alongside my theological river; but they’re further apart than they were in my younger years. My banks have been established by lifetime of struggles and conflicts…they are definitely not some sort of denominationally built canal.

I’ve listed here, a few of my banks. I invite you to read them, and to consider if they might be similar to yours. I also invite you to comment upon them. I’m not claiming to be “right,” so you just might make a comment that causes me to reconsider my stance.

Anyway…these things I believe:
• God loves all people, without exception.
• To follow God’s example we must forgiving and show mercy to others.
• Social justice and civil rights matter.
• God still speaks through the Bible, through other literary works, through people and through nature.
• War is not the solution to international conflicts.
• What we believe, is less important than how we treat others.

I don’t claim to be right…I’m just trying to be HONEST TO GOD.

 
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Posted in New Life

 

…filling our low spots…

28 Apr

Well the April rains have come to Missouri in a big way! And if April showers bring May flowers, then April downpours bring May floods. We live less than a mile from the Meramec River which seems to flood every spring…and this year is no exception.

Yesterday the Meramec closed the River Road. By this afternoon the river had reached the bottom of our stop sign…and it’s yet to crest.

The Mississippi River is also approaching flood stage, and the Army Corps of Engineers is considering the possibility of breaching the levies in rural areas to protect the more populated cities.

Their logic is simple: If they poke a hole in the levies the water will flow from the river into the lowest lying farm land. Water always flows to the lowest elevation…and fills the lowest spots.

And so it is with God, our Living Water. When we allow our walls to be breached, when we drop our defenses, God flows into our lowest places. Life is difficult for all of us, we all have problems. We have low places, stale and empty spaces that beg to be filled with Living Water.

 
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Posted in New Life

 

…on being perfect…

13 Nov

My friend has a developmentally disabled daughter. I’m unsure if the little girl’s condition is a syndrome…or a disorder…or a deficiency. I only know that the father questions why his little girl isn’t “perfect” like other children.

His question sends my mind reeling. Are there any “perfect” children? Are there really any “perfect” people?

I’m definitely not perfect! I have a broken leg. I’m over-weight, over-bearing, and self-centered. I’m sarcastic and cynical. I struggle with depression, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. I have an embarrassing past and a questionable future. I procrastinate as long as possible, and rarely finish what I start. And lest you forget…I have a broken leg!

I sincerely doubt that there are any perfect people in this world. Most of my wealthy, and seemingly healthy friends have skeletons in their closets. Many of my seemingly comfortable friends are kept awake at nights due to a guilty conscience. Some of the most arrogant people I know are actually the most emotionally insecure.

Still, my friend wonders why his little girl isn’t perfect like other children. She awakens every morning to loving parents and to a day filled with wonder and awe. She giggles over things I barely notice. She accepts without question everyone and everything she meets. She isn’t plagued with self-doubt, doesn’t worry about the future, and she sleeps every night with a clear conscience.

She may have a syndrome…or a disorder…or a deficiency. But in my eyes, she is one of the most perfect children ever created.
 

 
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…half time…

02 Aug

It’s August, which means that football season is just around the corner.

Now I love watching NFL on television, but I never put much stock in a game’s score at half-time. Too many things can happen in the second half. Players get hurt, or run out of steam. The ball takes a lucky bounce, or the weather turns suddenly sour. It would be ridiculous to assume that the team with the most points at half-time will win the game.

I tend to approach most of life’s situations in the same fashion. Why should I predict that I’ll fail an entire math course, just because I score poorly on the first test? Why should I start considering divorce just because we have an argument on our honeymoon? Such predictions would be as absurd as assuming that the team with the most points at half-time would win the game.

I remember an old Methodist minister who was fond of saying, “God never promised we’d be ahead at half-time only that we’d win the game.”

The bottom line, I guess, is that my current “position” in life doesn’t really matter. I may seem healthy, wealthy and wise…but it’s only half-time. I may be alone and unemployed…but it’s only half-time.

And God didn’t promise I’d be ahead at half-time…only that I’d win the game.

 
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Posted in New Life