The summer is almost over (or is it already?) With the heat it sure doesn't feel like it. I have been preaching on some of my favorite passages this summer. It wraps up tomorrow with a text from my dissertation. It is from 2 timothy 2:2. "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."
One of the best things that happened to me in terms of my walk with CHrist is that a guy named John Pantellas, my Young Life leader, took me under his wing and taught me the scriptures and about being a disciple. We had a group in college of high school guys and leaders and we studied this text. It helped transform my life and take seriously the call to invest in others lives.
One thing I sense as I talk to people and churches is they are thinking how to grow their services bigger. BUt I wonder why? Is it just to grow? Are people actually becoming different or are they just attending services? They are thinking in terms of the near term but not the long term. Paul had a desire not only to impact Timothy's life but the lives of two other generations beyond Timothy (reliable men, others). Too often I don't think that long term. I think of how the gospel impacts my life. While that is the place to start, it is not the place to end.
In our attraction getting church world, where we focus so much on getting more people to our buildings/programs, this is a big shift in thinking. It simply begins with one or two people, investing together in others or asking for people they respect spiritually to invest in them.
This week I heard on the radio that personal papers of Mother Teresa indicated she had struggled with trusting God and him answering her prayers. I would like to read more. To me it shows the importance of sharing your thoughts/questions with people. While that is a little scary that Mother Teresa wrestled with these thoughts, it is also a little comforting to know that a spiritual giant like her wrestled with things the rest of us do.
3 comments:
The news stories will be interesting on this.
I wonder how many atheists have doubts about there being no God?
I also saw the story about Mother Therea (here's the Time Magazine article that covers it: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1655415,00.html).
Isn't it ironic that one of our common human experiences is this universal sensation of being isolated? We are all together in our shared aloneness.
Ultimately, I have the same reaction that you do, Scott -- I take a measure of comfort from this new revelation that Mother Theresa struggled with these doubts and with this sense of being disconnected from the eternal.
And it causes me to hold Mother Theresa in higher esteem. After all, if one is quite certain of their ultimate reward, well, then maybe it isn't quite as hard to lay down one's life in service to others. But if you lay down your life even though you struggle all your life with darkness and doubt... well, that seems much more meaningful to me.
Al Houser
Very well said, Al.
Faith is proceeding along in the midst of doubt. I doubt Peter had complete faith when he walked on the water. He trusted God and risked. It is easy to let your fears and doubts overtake and never trust and never get out of the boat.
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