Monday, April 8, 2013

My friend's journey through pain, grief and loss

Pain. Grief. Loss.

There's been quite a bit of it in the world of those I love these days. When I see this, I wonder at the journey this life throws us. There are things we see in part and later understand. I recently wrote my own thoughts on this a few blogs ago.

Today I read another friends journey over the last 3-4 years and got choked up. The reason is, somehow, through it all, there's another side.

I hope you're blessed and will share in the struggle and journey that my friend Renea shares in her story here.
My friend's blog on grief

Thank you for reading!

Monday, April 1, 2013

L’amour de Dieu est folie

"L’amour de Dieu est folie"
The Love of God is Folly.

There is no intelligent reason to believe that God's love would lead him to come in human form and die a criminal's death. At best, it's just a legend, a myth. Maybe it's just a beautifully nice but awkward story.

And if it's the stuff of raw truth? Unadulterated gospel?  That's absurd, ridiculous, completely foolish!

The religious try and earn their way. It is unjust to otherwise assume that one can reach God in all His glory. No, there is judgment. There is righteousness but there is NOT extravagant love.

Those who don't believe,  this whole thing of needing love, needing a Savior is both unnecessary and archaic. There are many ways to reach peace, to reach God. Your view is just one (very odd and archaic) way of looking at it. In fact, I myself am God and need to figure that out.

And so all actually say, "We don't need a savior." This Christian message with a criminal's cross is foolish. But God's wisdom is not like ours. God's intelligence is not like ours. Every other wisdom and truth will be frustrated in the end. Just try and earn your way. Just try and live this life without the overarching truth with purpose apart from this Savior.

God chose this foolish story, this awkward and absurd truth to bring about His love, His deliverance.

This truth is a stumbling block to many. Will it be a stumbling block for you? And if so, in which way? Religious or one who won't believe?

And yet God's foolishness is still wiser than human wisdom. God's apparent "weak-sauce" way of providing deliverance is stronger than any human strength or saving power. God did indeed choose the foolish things in this world to shame the wise. He chose the weakest looking thing to shame the strong. God chose the ways of humility and the despised things to nullify what seemingly "is", so no one can boast. And that's exactly what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1. In this wisdom I rest. In God's foolish love, I rest.