Yeah, yeah.. I know it’s easy to write off the “prosperity gospel” as an extreme. But the importance of knowing just how distorted this brand of christianity is stems not only from our ability to write it off where it is concentrated. For example.. in the places to which we’ve exported it at the great expense of peoples’ livelihood and development…
http://www.vimeo.com/7182512It is equally important to recognize the cancer in its smaller, sneakier forms.
Sure, the most of us don’t buy the notion that the Lord is going to “buy me a Cadillac” or what have you.. but the subtle battle of divine expectations is constant and heavy. For many of us, the experience of a life “in Christ” has been something dramatically different than advertised: Our jobs still get pulled out from beneath our feet, our relationships are still compromised by the worst parts of our nature, our children still die from genetic disorders they were born with and suffer from for no fault of their own… the happenings and circumstances of our lives often remain much the same if not exactly the same in life “with God” as life “without Him” which can lead one to wonder just how much of a difference there is between the two.
NOTHING in all of scripture, much less the long, difficult history of God’s people in relationship with Him proposes that He removes from us these daily burdens. In fact, among Joy, Gentleness, Peace and the lot, Longsuffering is listed as a fruit of God’s spirit in the lives of those who follow Jesus.
Furthermore, I might even suggest that while Joy and Peace are characteristics one would expect from a person indwelt with the heart of Jesus, Longsuffering is where the rubber meets the road. When things are brutal.. when dreams and expectations fail… when God disappoints… do I still call God “good”? When what is “good” to God seems “evil” to me; when God’s hand does not move to alleviate suffering and bring light where darkness has claimed preeminence.. can I submit my will to His and say “not my will, but yours.. not my idea of good but Yours; though it confounds and perplexes and even angers me… You are King and I will trust You despite myself.”
So, while I don’t always click with John Piper, I couldn’t agree more with him in this:
http://www.vimeo.com/1523365![[Digg]](http://www.justinmcroberts.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
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I would be curious to hear a little more on this topic. I’m left wondering why one should say to one’s self, “you are King and I will trust you despite myself.” I understand that scripture commends faith in the midst of hardship, but to what end? Or, should that the end itself?
I would explain it this way: God is more interested in our character than he is in our comfort. Our experiences, especially those that bring deep suffering &or grief, mold and shape who we are. They bring us sympathy for others and often steer us in a direction that God sees us serving in His body.
The way I look at it, God sees our path from the 30k foot level, while we are often so consumed in the details of our lives that we can’t see the big picture. Living life from our perspective makes it very easy for the enemy to deceive us and lure us off the right path. A lot of the time, we can look back and see that our obedience to God saved us from what could have been a much harder path to get where we are needed to go. Other times, we might not know God’s purpose for our experiences until we’re in the Bama seat reviewing our life with Him. God’s path is always the most efficient way, in shaping our character, but not always from our point of view. So if you trust in God and trust that He is good and His ways are good, then when you say, “God, your will, not mine,” you are making a statement that you understand that our own ways, or your flesh, will always steer us in the wrong direction and that we trust God’s guidance, even though it often goes against every fiber of our being when the instructions come down.
Just my $0.02
i’d be interested to hear about what you mean, when you say, “i dont always click with piper” shoot me an email if you got any time which you probably dont now that you have a little one running around. just want to hear some of your thoughts about it.