A time for everything

I have been giving some thought for the last several weeks to Ecclesiastes 3. The idea that there is a time for everything gives me comfort in a way I am having trouble articulating. Knowing that life is but a vapor, a transient thing to be savored and lived with purpose is a powerful idea, and binding that idea to this passage somehow gives me peace. The peace comes in the knowledge that life is not a collection of randomness, but that everything comes in it's time. Grief is not forever and we cannot expect only time to dance.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)
A Time for Everything
3 There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal,a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

I continue to meditate on this passage - what is it time for now? How can I use this idea to comfort myself and others with the certainty of purpose?

Trapped by faith and guilt

Recently, while talking to a close friend of mine I was reminded of how powerful a weapon set faith and guilt can be against a person. Growing up in a fundamentalist church, I heard repeatedly that we just have to trust God and He will heal someone, or - "oh that poor soul, if they would only really trust God, they would be free of their mental illness / addiction / disease."

This theory fails to take into account the mixed blessing of free will. God created us as independent beings, free to make our own choices and follow our own paths. He does have a divine plan in which we all play a role, however we are free to muck about with our lives as we see fit, for the most part. The result of this, also called "our fallen state" in churchese, is that God won't fix everything.

Mental illness, disease, addictions, these are a result of the choices we have made as a human race. We have created the mess we live in and we own that. It is a shared blame on humanity, not God. That being said, He is willing and able to see us through challenges, but that does not mean that He will remove the challenge. There is a huge difference between deliverance from adversity and serenity through the adversity. God's power shines the brightest when we are willing to accept the challenges in our path and reflect His grace and peace through and despite the challenges.

The trap mentioned previously comes when we forget that bit of truth and think that there is a level of holiness that can be attained that is sufficient to prevent any ill befalling us. This cross thinking results in guilt for all adversity since it must be our spiritual shortcoming that lead us there.

more on this later ....

A thought for the fourth

I was thinking last night, while I should have been sleeping, about this country in which I live. How we have been sliding slowly from a culture of strength and sacrifice to a culture of immediate gratification and one that demands quick fix, no cost remedies. This brought to mind some wise words that I will leave with you, spoken by greater men than I.

"From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them"
-- FDR

Still here?!

So today is day 6 of the ongoing saga. I thought I was going home today, but the doc just told me otherwise. Bummer. I was really a little surprised at how upset this whole thing gets me. I think it is the frustration of not knowing compounded by being away from my family and a little of the fear of what happened in the past.

Philippians 1:19-21
(19) for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
(20) I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
(21) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

I have spent a little time looking for verses on faith and courage and I think I like Philippians 1:19-21 a lot. I know I am not really totally qualified to claim this passage, but then, little things like qualifications has never stopped me before. :)

While the context is different, I hope that I can attain the passion outlined in v.21. To live as God would have me live, not because it is what I have to do, rather because it is my passion.

Maybe this will serve as a vehicle to help get me one step closer.