WHERE IS GOD WHEN IT HURTS?:
I have been on the reflective side a bit on the spiritual essence of
things lately and daresay, since my time in Korea my times with God
have been pretty stale. I would best summarize my spirituality
somewhere near not running from God but basically wanting to be left
alone. Yes, Korea did leave some big time wounds and left me with
a very bitter taste in the mouth for serving in ministry. Instead
of encouragement, there was crushing.
Living here outside of Clemson has been good. God has provided me
a place to sleep, a car, school, a super-caring group of people I get
together with on Sundays and a great gal who lives less than an hour
away. This time away from it all has been so good for me
spiritually and emotionally. Examining all this I can’t help but
thank God for his love for me. I’ve actually gotten to know some
nice people around here. Growing up and coming down to visit Nana
and John, I never went out of my way to make friends with any kids who
lived near them… what would the point be, my family would leave the
next day to head back home. So I am very cautious about wanting
to invest into people when suddenly they are yanked out of my life
(moving around a lot when you grow up will do that to your social
life) I have built a lovely wall.
So back to the main point, Jacob invites me to join him at a Bible
study that he attends on Monday nights with Clemson students who attend
DCF. Tonight’s passage was out of Galatians 2. God really
spoke to my heart from verse 16 which says, “[we]
know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in
Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that
we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law,
because by observing the law no one will be justified.“
Paul is trying to show the early Christians that observing the law does
not lead to justification. For example, I have never received a
speeding ticket but I know people who have. They received the
ticket because they did not observe the law of the speed limit. I
have never known anyone to get pulled over by the police for observing
the speed limit… the law was not meant to reward, but to
convict. As Paul tried to explain to these young Christians…
the law was not meant to justify. The part that jumped at me was
the two contrasts: (a) Faith in Christ (b) Observing the law.
Faith versus observing… God convicted me (i.e. pulled me over
tonight) and showed me the error of my ways. I have switched from
“faith in Christ” to “observing Christ”. It is time for this
wounded and wayward sheep to return to the fold. I needed
healing. Thanks for letting me air my pains and hurts.
<><
Will
