Most people don’t have a hard time acknowledging the existence of the Christian Right even if they find it irksome.  The Christian Right ranks in popularity along with Brussels sprouts and Lima beans among a wide swath of American culture.  If you stop to analyze it with civility—as we did with the Christian Left—we will find that this annoyance is really unfounded.

Just as we said regarding the Christian Left, the Christian Right should not be confused with the Political Right. 

To be fair in my exposition, the Political Right is comprised of those called right-wingers, conservatives, Tea Party activists, capitalists, nationalists, and yes, even fascists (which I personally don’t see, but on a traditional left-right spectrum of political ideology it’s shown as the far right and I’m trying to stay honest here).

Though the Political Right and the Christian Right are distinct, they too have certain things in common.  There is a notable exception: The Christian Right believes in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Therefore, no matter how annoyed the Political Left gets with the Political Right, the Christian Left should do more than tolerate–they should embrace the Christian Right as the valued corrective to a view of the Christian faith that exalts community at the expense of the individual.

Going back to our train track analogy from yesterday, if the left rail could be labeled Community, the right rail could be labeled Individual.  To the Christian Right, the world isn’t divided into classes (e.g. rich, poor, Jew, Greek, slave, free), the world is comprised of individuals, each of whom matter to God.

Whereas the Christian Left is enamored with community, the Christian Right (populated significantly by Protestants) prioritizes individual decisions and each being born again into the family of Christ.  While Jesus is returning for a community of disciples, He is also returning for you and for me within that body called the Church.  It is significant that our names are listed individually in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Because the right rail lifts the individual along the path to our common destination, God Himself, the Christian Right is deeply concerned with evangelization and the truth of the Gospel as the best way of growing the community, one soul at a time.  The Christian Right sees teaching, preaching, and evangelism as the best means to bring the individual to knowledge of Christ and a personal saving relationship.

The Christian Left needs the Christian Right to remind themselves that we’re not dealing with masses of people in a huddle to be fed with earthly food and that’s where compassion ends.  Rather, we minister to a mass of individuals who need spiritual sustenance as a valid priority.  Let’s face it: With or without salvation, death happens to everyone.  Whether one dies from starvation at age 12 or from diabetes at age 102, what the individual did with Jesus Christ makes an eternal difference.

Romans 2:6 God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

Therefore, let’s not judge the Christian Right harshly for having each individual as a priority.  Charity alone isn’t the final measure of compassion.  Giving one person the Gospel truth can change that soul’s eternal destination in a way that a bowl of rice—while helpful in the moment of the flesh—cannot.

The Christian Left needs the Christian Right for this reason.  Arm in arm and shoulder-to-shoulder we can stay on track to our eternal goal: God’s presence.  We can help one another to stay focused on the author and perfecter of our faith—Jesus—as we build a community of individuals, ministering to their physical needs and giving them spiritual food that comes by way of teaching them eternal Truth.

Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile– the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

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This series included

http://seminarygal.com/understanding-the-christian-right/

http://seminarygal.com/understanding-the-christian-left/

http://seminarygal.com/bad-company-corrupts-good-character/

Does the Christian Left actually exist, or is it an oxymoron like “wise fool” or “jumbo shrimp”?

The Christian Left surely exists—it is no oxymoron—and today, I’d like to suggest that it’s a matter of Christian priorities.  Understanding the Christian Left benefits the Body of Christ as we embrace a wider theological perspective.

Let’s start with an important distinction: The Christian Left is not the same as the Political Left which frequently doesn’t like Christianity and the Bible a whole lot, in general. 

For the Political Left (often known as Liberals, Progressives, Greens, Lefties, Leftists, Socialists, Communists, etc) there is a priority of political power concerns in a world regardless of any involvement of any god.  They are characterized by their belief in the power of government to make the human condition better.

The Christian Left has some characteristics in common with the Political Left, with one important exception:  The Christian Left, being Christian, believes in Jesus as the Son of God.

In a separate post, I’ll elaborate on the problems we get when we conflate the Christian Left with the Political Left and do the same thing with the Christian Right and the Political Right.  We will also look at how politics and religion are lenses through which we see the world and how the priority and ordering of these lenses makes a significant difference.  Conflating politics and religion is poor policy and brings out the worst in people.  For now, I’d like to bring the discussion through the route of civility.

Let’s consider train tracks as an analogy:

There are two steel rails for most track trains (for our purposes, we won’t consider monorails).  There is a left rail and a right rail, both of which acting in parallel, head toward the same goal.  For the Christian, our Christian roundhouse is God Himself.  He is our goal; His presence is our destination; He owns the tracks; and He maintains the tracks in accordance with His best practices to ensure that no derailments occur.

For the Christian fellowship of believers, the left rail can be labeled “Community.”  The left rail cares deeply about the entire community of believers and those who will become believers.  The left rail is moved with great empathy and compassion for the poor and disenfranchised, desiring to bring them into community and to minister to their needs.  They are drawn to social causes and want to do good to the brotherhood of man.

In his book, Five Great Catholic Ideas, Edward Wm. Clark outlines one of the central tenets of the Christian movement, embraced particularly by Roman Catholics (and I would add the Christian Left):

“We are saved in community.”

I say it is a Christian tenet because when Jesus returns, He’s not coming for a bunch of brides, but A Bride: His Church. 

He’s returning to gather a Community and bring us to be with Him forever.  Yes, the community has individuals and we’ll talk about that in another post, but for now, let’s just all agree that He’s not returning for one or many individuals acting in solo effort, but for one community of unified disciples known as the Body of Christ, or alternatively, the Church.

The Christian Left gets this. 

We’re a Community. We will be saved as a Community of followers. 

We should care about Community and about brothers and sisters, no matter where in the world they reside. 

It matters what happens to other people because it’s both our witness and an expression of our love.  The Christian Right needs the Christian Left’s heightened emphasis on community as a great reminder, holding the train on the track as together, we head toward the goal of Christlikeness.

Christian Left and Christian Right–we are one body.  And we are called to peace.

===

This series included

http://seminarygal.com/understanding-the-christian-left/

http://seminarygal.com/understanding-the-christian-right/

http://seminarygal.com/bad-company-corrupts-good-character/

Fox News Commentator Kirsten Powers has joined the ranks of Evangelical Christianity.  Welcome aboard, my sister!  Check out the article here.  In the article, it reads,

How was I going to tell my family or friends about what had happened? Nobody would understand. I didn’t understand. (It says a lot about the family in which I grew up that one of my most pressing concerns was that Christians would try to turn me into a Republican.)

For the record, let’s just admit that GOP doesn’t stand for God’s Own Party.  Christians—true Christians—are affiliated with different political parties.  Much of this can be traced to highlighting one issue over another in any Christian’s priority list.

Take me for example: I am unequivocally pro-life.  Jesus was and that’s why I am.  Now, pause and think for a moment if you know pro-life Democrats and pro-choice Republicans.  If you get around much, you certainly do.

In fact, I’d argue that many in the GOP leadership are embarrassed about people like me: Christian, theologically conservative, pro-life, stay-at-home moms.  They probably dislike me every bit as much as many liberal Democrats, like this blogger who wrote:

Having done a fair amount of legal work for non-profit organizations, one of the big no-no’s is involvement in political activities in support or opposition of particular candidates and/or legislation. To be tax-exempt, one had to focus on charitable activities, not politics and candidate support. Increasingly, churches – principally conservative ones – have thrown this concept out the window and here in Virginia, many conservative (translated, anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-religious freedom for others) churches are now basically an arm of the Republican Party with activities orchestrated through the ever foul Family Foundation.

Do I detect a tiny amount of animosity here?  Is it really “principally conservative ones” or shall we cry foul, or would that be “ever foul?”

Well, Mr. Blogger, how do we reconcile that with this (I received it just yesterday)?  It was sent by a pastor to his congregation:

The Commonwealth of Virginia has authorized no money to help the poor enroll in Affordable Care Act health plans.  All assistance must be done by volunteers.  [Name of organization removed for anonymity] is filling this gap. Anyone can volunteer with them to be part of the solution.  This is a social justice issue… So – thanks, friends, for considering doing God’s work in this way.

God’s work?  Did I miss the day God voted for the Affordable Care Act? 

(Is this even a church we’re talking about?  Yes, sadly yes.  Supposedly…)

Is there anything stopping this pastor from organizing a team of hospitals, doctors, nurses, and dentists to offer pro bono care to the indigent as an expression of loving, Christian ministry?  Of course not.  Is there anything stopping this pastor from encouraging his congregations to supply nutritional food to food banks, build homes through Habitat for Humanity, provide medical care for the poorest of the poor through forming a medical ministry like my friend’s Hands and Hearts International that over the years has provided medical and dental care for tens of thousands in Africa.  Someone could start a ministry for Virginia…the location of both the blogger and the pastor…and you know what?  Maybe if they did that instead of bowing down to the government, the Christian witness would be even more evident.

When your church signs up the poor for some controversial government program,

what is that saying about who provides?

Is it God who has provided?  Or is it the government?

What is your witness, sir? 

Whether Republicans or Democrats, our goal should be to point to Jesus every chance we get.  It doesn’t mean we can’t be vocal about the intersection of faith and life, doctrine and discipleship, or communicate what the Gospel speaks as admonition to a culture far from God. Mr. Pastor, let me say this as clearly as I know how:

Christian witness of the Church hangs in the balance.  It is why we need to have Christianity apart from politics.  Jesus stood above the politics of His time and we should follow His example.

Controversies between Christians damage Christianity, diminish our influence in the world, waste precious time, and they brand Jesus in a very unbecoming way. 

This is almost unforgivable. 

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  If by our actions, we steer people from desiring the only way to their salvation, what have we accomplished?

I’m beginning to think that nearly every controversy in the Church contains the same cast of often well-educated characters vehemently arguing their sides. 

What is it you want:

to be found right,

or to be found righteous?  

God is not impressed with how smart you controversy-lovers are.  Perhaps He would say to you what He says in Revelation 2:

Revelation 2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

If the goal of the command to teach sound doctrine is love, then we must treat others in a way that accomplishes that end.  Loveless behavior and sniping at fellow believers will never produce a loving consequence.  Nor will divisiveness create an ever-increasing and unified body of believers.

If your goal is to be found right, chances are good you won’t be found righteous because pride undercuts any doctrinal correctness you may think you have.  Worse, this pride sacrifices brothers and sisters.  If the second command to love neighbors is just like the first, “Love the Lord your God,” then righteous person keeps in mind the goal of love.  The right and righteous one will steer clear of needing to be found right in the eyes of those men who enjoy being mired in meaningless controversies.

With so many Christians arguing with one another, it’s enough to make you throw up your hands and ask, “Why do Christians insist on devouring each other?”

There was recently a conference by John MacArthur called Strange Fire in which Pentecostals and charismatics were being challenged as promoting unbiblical pursuits.  For some this was an important area of doctrinal investigation.  For others it was being unnecessarily controversial and divisive to the Christian community.  Strange Fire generated far more heat than light.

How do we know when to hold onto our principles and when to let mere controversies go? 

The Bible encourages us to love God and neighbor by holding to the truth of what is clearly discerned in the pages of Scripture.  To let go of the love for either God or neighbor is an unproductive and fruitless endeavor.  God’s work is by faith, often hidden, and visible only in the spiritual realm.  To argue about what’s not clear in Scripture that we cannot see with anything other than eyes of faith is a waste of valuable energy and time that would be better used to promote the Gospel.

Let us endeavor to do what Paul told Timothy:

 1 Timothy 1: 3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work– which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

What’s not to Love about Halloween?

Quite a bit actually.  Any love affair I ever had with Halloween was short-lived.  There’s nothing like having your husband out on business with your only car, a bazillion youths (not small children) showing up at your door with pillow cases and no costumes, having run out of candy you purchased (naively thinking it would last you 3 Halloweens and then some), then giving out–as a last resort–the candy your own children had received earlier that evening with promises of repayment the following day, having nothing left after that and no way of leaving the house with no transportation, closing the door, turning off the light and having angry teens pounding on your door shouting, “We know you’re in there!” while your children sat wide-eyed.  Then, there’s the joy of waking up in the middle of the night to a couple of gunshots down the street as a high school girl was murdered with her jilted boyfriend committing suicide on the lawn a half-dozen doors away, and then coming down in the morning to human feces smeared all over the screen door of your nice suburban home.  Happy Halloween.

It’s taken me years to move beyond that. 

Perhaps you won’t judge me too harshly for thinking

that there is very little redemptive going on at Halloween.

Let’s see:

• We teach kids to enjoy what is dark and scary instead of what is good and beautiful.
• We promote death and murder and blood and violence over being creative, cute, and clever (not cleaver–that belongs in the former clause).
• We encourage greed by letting older children grab handfuls of candy out of fear of retaliation meaning that any little kids dressed up as fairies or football players won’t find any left if their parents haven’t taken them out before dark. 
• We encourage extortion by the very phrase “Trick or Treat!” and as my screen door can testify, there are consequences for non-compliance with Halloween protocol.
• We cannot even put a paper bag over our neighbor’s homes so our own kids don’t have the crap scared out of them with zombies hanging by ropes in neighbors’ trees or decapitated corpses laying in their yards.  What ever happened to decorating with mums, corn shocks, and an artistic display of pumpkins?
• We teach kids to laugh at death and to minimize the grim reality, but as the high school girl’s family can tell you, it’s not funny at all.  Not one bit.  I would imagine that the boy’s family doesn’t like Halloween’s ugly reminder either.
• We teach kids to pretend they’re someone that they’re not and to wear masks.  Pretending can be fun and imaginative, but being a fake is not a good life lesson, is it?

So how do we make Halloween redemptive? 

I’ve struggled with this over the years and have decided to encourage what is good. 

I will be the change I’d like to see in others on this awkward holiday. 

• Unlike the woman who is handing out notes about childhood obesity, those who hand out tracts, or following the lead of the Duck Tape commercials and giving tape to kids, I will give out candy that I’d like for my kids to have received.
• I will come out of the door and greet the kids on my porch at eye-level and be a winsome witness for Jesus to the kids’ parents as well.
• I will play Christian music on my stereo that will be loud enough to be good background music.
• I will set apart my home by not putting any gruesome or death-related decorations in my yard.
• I will let it be known I’m a Christ-follower by saying “God bless you!” or “Jesus loves you!”
• I will make the most of the opportunity to be known as a Christian and in doing so, overcome the distasteful aspects of Halloween.

Ephesians 5:15 Be very careful, then, how you live– not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

I remember when I was a kid, I was watching the movie that came on after Garfield Goose.  It was a B movie called “Teenagers from Outer Space.” (OK, I didn’t know the name of it before the miracle of the Internet but it’s considered a prime example of a low budget 1950s sci-fi movie.)  I couldn’t have told you the name of it, but I could tell you that it gave me nightmares for years.  Aliens with death ray guns come to earth and shoot people whose flesh is zapped away and they immediately turn into plastic skeletons.  (No one said they were plastic and as a child, I was convinced they were real, especially the one at the bottom of the pool.  So convinced, that every night before bed, well into my teens, I’d double-check the closet and under the bed.  I developed an irrational fear of skeletons, fearing they might actually come back to life, even though in the movie, they were as dead as dead can be).

Why am I telling you this?

Well, tonight on our walk, my husband and I were looking at gruesome Halloween décor at home after home, and appalled, I asked him,

Do kids even get nightmares anymore?”

What an innocent time I lived in.  My kids too.  Their nightmares were about stuffed animals (presumed evil ones that would be banished from the room to the hallway) and the rat from Lady and the Tramp who was, for the record, never roaming about our home.

Don’t you find it interesting: Today’s kids go Trick-or-Treating in hand-selected, store-bought zombie costumes with blood and gore, accompanied by their parents who are afraid of what real life monsters might live as child predators in nearby homes with desirable candy?  Yet, when I was a kid, we dressed up like black cats and donned homemade ghost costumes made out of sheets.  We ran positively wild on Halloween, Trick-or-Treating parent-free until curfew.  Packs of kids supervising kids and our safety wasn’t a concern beyond double-checking our candy when we got home.

Not so today.  We let our children parade in death costumes, decorate our houses with death, we believe our safety is constant jeopardy, our children’s lives hang in reality’s balance, the evil we fear the most is the real evil of other people’s schemes, and all the while we pass off as entertainment, festivity, and fun what is actually rather morbid.

We have made death a caricature–both horrifying and humorous.

What message is this we are sending to the next generation?  How do we overcome today’s culture of death?  It’s everywhere from the nightly news to video games to abortion clinics to movies to our neighborhoods.  As parents, the best we can do is to teach our children the truth about death.

• Death is bound to happen to all of us (barring special cases like Enoch and Elijah or unless Jesus returns during our lifetimes).
• Death spells the end of Gospel opportunities for ones who rejected Jesus in the days of their lives.  It’s not funny or a little trick.  It’s not a nightmare you wake up from and realize the skeleton is plastic.  It’s not even temporary like tainted candy or an evil mind lurking behind a front door.
• Death–the undeniable, lasting, and pervasive consequence of the Fall–ends everything for the person who doesn’t know Jesus.  Herein lies the very real danger that our culture of death minimizes.  We get lulled by seeing death everywhere to believing it’s no big deal.  But death is not just a big deal, it’s the biggest deal.  It’s the last event, marked on many an earthly tombstone with solemn finality.  The dash of life from cradle to grave is over and all that’s left is the grave for the person rejecting God’s offer of forgiveness.
• Death, however, also signals the beginning of life after death for the person who acknowledges Christ’s atoning sacrifice for sin and has received His forgiveness.
• Death is the holding tank for unforgiven souls as they await final judgment.

Hebrews 9:27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

As Halloween draws near, let’s do our part as parents, grandparents, neighbors, and friends to avoid minimizing or celebrating death and instead to make sure that we use these opportunities to teach the many blessings of the Christian life, including an eternal life.

This Gospel is Good News indeed: Jesus is risen from the grave–not as a zombie, but as our Risen Savior who conquered death, and every follower of His (throughout human history) shares in the dream of eternal life being our reality.

I have a few favorite prayers in the Bible and Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the Temple is one of them.  There’s a lovely thread of repentance, love, and forgiveness woven throughout.  The trust in God permeating this prayer is an unshakable trust in a covenant-keeping God.  As you read through this prayer in 1 Kings 8:22-61, focus on the characteristics of God and how God’s people will overcome, in part by maintaining a clear view of sin and repentance.  Repentance is characterized by a change of heart, mind, attitude, and direction.  This is how we overcome.

For those of us who struggle with saying, “I’m sorry,” for those who have a hard time forgiving, and for those who worry that there is no coming home again after mistakes were made and we were the ones who made them, Jesus tells this amazing story about repentance and forgiveness.

Luke 15:11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Repentance is the journey home to forgiveness.  The son made up his mind to say he’s sorry.  More than just a change of mind, he’d also go home with a change of heart.  What he didn’t know is the father was waiting for the son to come home.  Seeing his son at a distance, the father knew the journey home meant there had been a change of mind, a change of heart, a change of attitude, and a change of direction.  The son was coming home to forgiveness that was waiting there for him all along.

What are you waiting for? 

Whether you need to repent or forgive, the journey can begin right now.

Some of you may not have liked this topic of abuse.  Maybe you have thought it doesn’t apply to you and you’d rather not read about it.  Maybe it seems all too familiar and you’d rather forget it.

The same principles apply whether we’ve been abused, we know someone who has, or whether we’ve lived a life in which suffering has beat us down at every turn.

How often do we ask the question “Why Me?”  Or simply “Why?”

Job knew a little bit about suffering.  He had a big target on his back for the accuser.  In fact, God pointed Job out, “Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8).  Hard as it may be for us to understand, God was the One who drew the Job-shaped-target for the adversary to ready, aim, fire.  And Satan hit Job’s life with both barrels.  The obvious question is “Why?”

NIV Job 3:1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 He said: 3 “May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is born!’ 4 That day– may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine upon it. 5 May darkness and deep shadow claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm its light. 6 That night– may thick darkness seize it; may it not be included among the days of the year nor be entered in any of the months. 7 May that night be barren; may no shout of joy be heard in it. 8 May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan. 9 May its morning stars become dark; may it wait for daylight in vain and not see the first rays of dawn, 10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me to hide trouble from my eyes. 11 “Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb? 12 Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed? 13 For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest 14 with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins, 15 with rulers who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. 16 Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day? 17 There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest.

Take a look at this passage. 

Do you realize that the “Why?” question was asked three times? 

“May” this, “May” that—Job curses his life more than 12 times.  He wished he’d never even been born. 

Can you relate?

Job is in the Bible, I’m convinced, to help us see how unproductive the “Why?” question is.  If God wanted us to know why, He’d tell us.  Perhaps the “Why” is too big to enter a human mind without breaking it.  Perhaps the “Why” is so convoluted, we could not possibly follow it.  Perhaps the “Why” will be generations in the answering and we won’t be here 100 years from now to see the “Why” answered.

I think Job is also in the Bible to remind us that in a God-centered life, a better question is “What Now?”

Without taking away from the pain the abuse victim feels, or the person who has received a diagnosis of cancer, or the person whose loved one has passed away, etc., “Why?” is not nearly as productive as “What Now?”

• The answer to “Why?” will not make the pain any less painful.
• It will not change the circumstances.
• It will not even improve our mood from depression and despair to rejoicing, as if we’ll suddenly say, “Oh well, God if that’s what You’re doing, I get it!  Great!  I can handle being abused, having cancer, losing all my loved ones, losing my fortune, etc.  Bring it on!  I welcome it!”  No one asks for a second helping of what was awful in the first helping.  Job had one bad thing after another and all the cursing and whys would not change one thing.

“What Now?” is where the change happens.  Where do you turn when life is one tragedy after another?  Do you turn inward and focus on how you feel and how sad you are?  That’s the logical thing to do.  Unfortunately, the inward spiral is a downward spiral.  It leads us to the pit of depression.

The outward spiral is the upward spiral.  When we turn to trusting in God, we are operating in the “What Now?”  We lay the “Why?” question aside, and let it rest in order to take up the “What Now?” with both hands.  Here are some What Now items to consider:

1. Forgiveness.  If you’ve been abused, learn to forgive and press onward.
2. Ask forgiveness.  If you’ve abused someone, it’s time to confess it to God who already knows it, and to the one you abused, who also already knows it.  Yes, you may have to pay a price in the process of fessing up.  Whatever the price is on earth of jail time or restitution or the humbling public acknowledgment of what was a sin, this price is small compared to an eternity.  Your response to Jesus who forgave you is to own up to what you have done.  Eternal life will be enough reward.  Should you fail to ask the ones you’ve harmed to forgive you, it ought to give you pause as to whether you really understand what it means to have asked Jesus to forgive you.  People are made in God’s Image and what you did to them you did to Jesus.  Your conscience will be at rest for having dealt with your crimes honestly.
3. Find an avenue of compassion.  For the one abused, maybe you help others who have been abused.  Maybe you write about your experiences to offer hope and help.  Maybe stronger ones in the faith can go to work in a prison ministry to offer hope to those who have committed crimes to know that forgiveness is possible.  For those who have committed crimes, maybe helping others to avoid making your mistakes, committing your crimes, and then, you can point those in jail (perhaps alongside you) to the Gospel that heals as your avenue of compassion.  Repentance isn’t just saying you’re sorry.  It’s living as if you are, turning from sin to live righteously.
4. Let your devotion to Jesus mark your life in every respect.  Let your grace be evident everywhere.  Let your kindness be your calling card.  Let your love for other people minister hope and compassion, far and wide.  When people see that this is who you are, you can witness to the great healing power of Jesus.  Not every evangelistic tool is a pamphlet.  Sometimes, the greatest witness is a person who has Overcome.
5. Not that this list is exclusive, but we all need to embrace Romans 3:21-24.  Because you see, whether you’ve been abused, you are an abuser, you are a person living his or her daily life trying to be a good person, this applies:   Romans 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

What Now?  The best answer to that one is: Faith. 

Faith puts the “Why?” question on the back burner where you can address that with God at some future point.  Faith is seeing God even in the midst of our suffering.  We can echo the words of Job (which I have personally echoed in place of the “Why?” I put to rest):

Job 42:1 Then Job replied to the LORD: 2 “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

“My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”  What Now?

 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

What Now?  Faith.