Monday, June 14, 2010

After reading, The Reflective Life by Ken Gire, I was moved to “retell” a special part of the book. Just for copyright’s sake.....these are my words, but Ken’s idea....but hey, it all comes from God anyway.

I want to be Christ-like. In fact I call myself a Christian. Yeah. That is right. This twenty-seven year old, locked up Dad......who has spent more time seeking self-centered pleasures then anything else.....still wants to be Christ like. Yep, but wait a minute. I don’t want to be the Christ that suffered up on the cross and hungered for 40 days in the wilderness. NO! I want to be the Christ that turned water to wine, the one who walked on water. I want to be the Christ that fed 5000 people and healed the sick, the one who gave life and forgiveness to the adulteress woman (John 8:1-9). But, I’ll sure pass on the Christ that was forsaken, whose garments were striped from his body, who was beaten till his mother could no longer recognize him. I want to be the Christ with the 12 disciples....not the Christ that was deserted by them.

See, I want to be the “Good Samaritan”, not the man who fell among thieves, who was robbed and beaten. But....you see, if that man would have never fallen then the ‘Good’ in the Samaritan would have never emerged.

Unfortunately, this is what Ken Gire calls the Dark Side of Christianity. It’s the side we don’t sign up for.....but, if we want to be Christ like, we have to embrace both sides. Not only the love, but also the suffering. Truth is, how can we ever truly know men’s sorrow and grief.... if we ourselves have not known these same pains. This is how Christ grows in all of us. By sharing suffering and pain, we feel connected to one another. It is from all this suffering that many people come to know Christ as well. For some, For ME, it is the only way. I had to suffer in order to know God.....otherwise, I would never had bothered to seek him out.

And.....maybe......perhaps.....that explains, at least a little bit, why bad things sometimes happen to good people.
Jer.29:11

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