Growing pains
Does it seem like the world is crashing down on you? Do you want to escape from decisions you know you have to make? Does it feel like you're growing up too fast? That's where I am. I suppose that it's a growing experience in and of itself, but it's rough.
That said, I'm not complaining. I know that God uses everything for His purposes, and that His purposes are good. It seems like I'm just too thick-headed to hear what He is trying to say...or maybe I just don't want to hear what He's trying to say. Oy.
Reading through books yesterday afternoon and trying to just STOP (our pastor has been talking about the Sabbath for the last three weeks...we STOPPED to the point of turning off our phones! Oy...), I came to a question that I'd love to have a discussion with all you readers about: Has God created us to be broken? It seems sometimes like life is all about pain. As The Dread Pirate Roberts said in The Princess Bride, "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something."
So are we made to be broken, or is it perhaps because of our stupid mistakes (because we have free will) that we are hurt? Does God say, "Well, I didn't want you to get hurt, but you chose to"? I mean, I know He uses all things for His glory, but...
Ugh. I think I've run out of whatever eloquence I might have had. Sorry, all. Hope you had a great weekend!
posted by Allegra at 6/03/2007 06:15:00 PM
6 Comments:
Hey Allegra,
actually I haven't been ignoring you on purpose. After schoool it just seemed like I got busier. I've been meening to put your link on for some time.
Allegra, you sound a little discouraged. No, I don't believe God made us to be broken. But sometimes He allows us to experience brokenness so we'll grow straighter and stronger~~similar to when the doctor breaks a bone so it will set right. I look back on some of the more painful times in my own life to realize that richness came out of them~~like the tapestry that looks ugly on the back but beautiful from the front. When the work is done you can stand back and look at a work of art! And, no, I don't think life is supposed to be all about pain. God in fact, TOLD us to be JOYFUL (through Ezra and Nehemiah in Neh 8:9-12)! Be encouraged that God gave us free choice because He knew how sweet it is to CHOOSE be obey Him. Phil 1:6 says "I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (The Fruit of Righteousness: see Phil 1:9-11). And He is gracious and merciful when we make a mistake (Lam 3:31-33). Also, be encouraged that I see some lovely growth in you even in this beautifully written post! You already know much of what I've said, but perhaps hearing it again will be an encouragement. :-)
Chris, it's okay. I was just giving you grief. Hope you're enjoying the busyness of being done with school! Congratulations!
Mrs. Larson, thank you so much. I guess grace and joy are two main things I'm trying to understand right now. Thanks so much for the reminder. I've printed off your comment. :)
To the first paragraph...ya. Only the world isn't crashing down on me, I'm crashing down on it. I guess that growing up makes me realize how little I know, how little I am, and how little I can do. Yes, it's a pain , but at least it's a _growing_ pain; and I think part of growing is learning that we'll never grow enough.
God made us to be broken, I think, so that we would find no strength in ourselves. Funny, the more I'm thrashed by the realization of my own incompetence, the happier I am. Pain brings hope. Nothing makes a person more miserable and worried than pride. And remember Hosea 6:1.
Wow, I refreshed my page after having two comments and responding to them, and there was yours, Matthew! You must be on at approximately 8:40 on 5 June 07. :)
Yeah, I guess part of the pain is realizing (and this mostly hurts my pride, perhaps) that I know nothing, that I have fewer answers than I had hoped. That's kind of depressing. :P
We've been reading C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" and finished the chapter on pride last night. But I think God's work in that area of my life has only just begun. Hooray! (Ouch...this is going to hurt a little to say the least.)
Perhaps God does make us happy when we realize our utter incompetence and just sit back, in His arms, just resting and allowing Him to do what He wanted to do in the first place. Oh, what a wonderful God we serve! He loves us so much...Dad was bemoaning that fact, saying that it might be healthier to be loved less, since we'd require less discipline. :P
Thanks so much, dear friends and fellow Christians!
Forgive me for putting in more than my 2 cents worth, but this is a subject that I feel passionate about. The idea that "God created us to be broken" is similar to blaming God for death and destruction (the idea that God created evil to show us the contrast between His goodness and the brokenness of the world.) Believe it or not, this is a doctrine I heard (much to my shock and amazement) preached several years ago in the very church I was attending at the time. I don't believe God created evil; I believe death, pain, and destruction are a result of sin. For more on the topic, please read the following article, published today in AIG's (Answers in Genesis) "Answers Update".
Weekly News
Q: Does the Bible tell us in Romans chapter 8 that the whole of creation groans because of sin?
A: Romans 8:18–23 teaches that the whole of creation “groans”—speaking of bondage and corruption, and looking forward to redemption. What else could this be referring to but the curse that God placed on it after Adam sinned?
The reason we bring this up is because Christians who believe in millions of years can’t allow such an interpretation. If death, disease, suffering, and violence—as represented in the fossil record—has been going on millions of years before mankind was created and sinned, then sin has nothing to do with the death and suffering we see all around us.
These people, then, can’t allow the interpretation of Romans 8 that the whole creation is groaning because of sin. The plain reading of the Romans 8 passage about a “groaning creation” is that it refers to the effects of sin (and every commentary our researchers have read agrees with this understanding). So those who believe in an earth that’s millions of years old have to say that sin really didn’t do anything to the creation!
Death becomes a natural part of the way that God brought about the world, rather than the punishment for sin. Accepting millions of years BLAMES GOD FOR DEATH AND SUFFERING. BUT NO-WE ARE TO BLAME, BECAUSE WE SINNED IN ADAM! (emphasis mine)
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