At what point did you quit relying on what your parents told you and believe in God on your own?
This week I'm working on a message based on the life of Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who anointed Jesus' feet with a jar of exorbitantly expensive perfume (see John 12:1-11).
I love Mary's story because she reminds me a little bit of myself. She began as a listener, went through a period of distrust after her brother died, then became one of Jesus' most ardent supporters.
A lot of people have a faith story that includes a beginning, a middle, and an end--especially those of us who were "brought up born again," meaning that we were raised by Christian parents.
People who are immersed in faith their whole lives nearly always go through a "middle" period when they question what they had always believed. Sometimes that happens when they go off to college and discover that some really smart people think Christianity is nonsense. Others, like Mary, find out that the Sunday school songs they learned as a kid don't provide all the answers for death or divorce or some other life problem.
Those are the people I want to reach this week--people who see Jesus the way a fish sees water, both constantly and not at all. Eventually, they're going to question the truths they've always taken for granted. I want to help them get through that middle stage--questioning long-held assumptions--to the end stage, which is personal faith in Jesus.
What specific issues do you think cause "insiders" (preacher's kids, youth camp veterans, etc.) to consider walking away from the faith?
Have you ever experienced the need to make your faith personal? How did you deal with it?
Which do you think people need more--permission to question the faith or assurance that "yes, it's all true"?
What would you say to a long-time believer who has had the foundation of his or her faith shaken?
I'd like to help people feel the confidence that they can do what Mary did and trust Jesus with the most precious things in their lives--their faith, ambition, future.
Any ideas?
2 comments:
Lawrence,
It seems to me that an outside perspective tends to be the clearest, no matter what you are looking at. Some of the most incisive writers about America have been foreigners: Thomas Paine, Alexis de Tocquevile, Oswald Chambers (an expatriate Brit).
I was one of those children who breathed some of my very first breaths in church. For this, I am grateful in many ways. But, owning my faith has been a life-long process of stepping outside and looking in. There has not been a single moment for me when I rejected all, then re-embraced all. In my own personal experience, God has opened a box at a time, saying essentially, "O.K., let's have a look at this." On some points, I have found myself in agreement with the faith handed me as a child. In other places, some of them critical, I have found that the faith that resonates with me is very unlike that of my parents.
Sometimes it has been a very clean, academic process of deeper understanding. Sometimes it has been lying on my face keening over heartbreak and confusion, or balling my fists and yelling at God about His unfairness and what I perceive as His capricious nature.
Regardless of the process, I find that every day, in a paradox I do not comprehend, I both understand God more, and become progressively more comfortable with mystery.
Just this past year, I have watched my 17 year old daughter begin her own romance with God. She reached a point of frustration and anger with God and was ready to walk away. But He has wooed her, and she is finding her own sweet communion with Him. It has been a beautiful process to watch.
Blessings as you bring this important word to your congregation this Sunday.
You ask:What would you say to a long-time believer who has had the foundation of his or her faith shaken?
"Yes, we have these times, but God is still in control. He allows these things to enter our lives in order for our faith to grow."
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