Monthly Archives: September 2015

Living in Relationship: Consciously Caring for One Another

meerkat_family

The older I get the more important relationships are to me. When I was younger, I took many of my relationships for granted. I assumed that others would always be there for me. I also presumed my relationship with God was a constant—He was always there and what I did or did not do mattered very little.  At least that’s what I thought.

As I have grown, I have come to see, along with A.W. Tozer, that what I believe about God and my relationship with him is the most important thing about me. Surprised by God: A Journey of Divine Discovery is a story about how my relationship with God has transformed and evolved over the course of my life. The way I see it, very few things are as important as dedicating ourselves to being lifelong learners and seekers of truth in God. Please read and reflect on this excerpt from the Introduction to Surprised by God about the importance of relationships.

Although I had grown up attending church, and always believed in God, it was not until I was in my teens that I saw the possibility of having 
a personal relationship with Him. But, even then, it was a limited vision. I thought God was most interested in me knowing Scripture, obeying His teaching, and having the right answers.

Over time, I have trans
formed from a Word-based Christian to a faith and 
relationship-based follower of Christ. I have discovered that insight alone is not sufficient for sustaining our lives and our faith. We need our hearts—our emotions—in order to engage more fully in life. Like any relationship, it is emotions and ideas that connect us.

With Christ, I came to realize that deepening my relationship required emotional expression—not the pretty, sanctimonious kind but real, raw, personal expression and sensing. Genuine emotional experience is critical to our fullest relationship with God.

The power of the relationship is in the persistence on the journey and the discovery, not the knowing: trying, failing, striving, reaching, falling back, and trying again—what I call grappling with God.file3871249263445

As a boy who loved rough sports, especially wrestling, I experienced the visceral joy of physical battle, the toughness of an opponent and what it took to overcome him. During my journey of faith, I have come to see a relationship with God and Christ as an ongoing battle with myself in my relationship to God. It’s a battle to be the real me and express the real me, all of me, in relationship with Him.

As I have grappled with that kind of authentic expression of, and honesty with, myself I have deepened my faith and my understanding of the divine. This journey has taken me far beyond what I thought was possible within my own life and has brought me a maturity and intimacy in my relationship with God, as I have grown more honest and intimate with the people I care about in my life.

It can do the same for you.

 

 

Grappling with God: A Test of Faith

Jacob Wrestling the Angel

 

 

Living a life of faith is not necessarily easy – but it’s worth the struggle!  Pursuing a relationship with God is like enrolling in a course that will challenge you beyond anything you could ever imagine.  And yet, isn’t it those tough courses that are the most rewarding – the ones you look back on and think about most fondly?  Choosing to pursue a relationship with God is like that.  It provides you with unending opportunities to learn, grow and be transformed.   Let me share with you an example from my own life.  I share this story in the introduction of my soon to be released book, Surprised by God: A Journey of Divine Discovery.

On November 17, 2008, I went in for hip replacement surgery. My wife Sue, and my daughter, Lauren, was with me at the hospital. I was prepared mentally and physically. I felt so good I was even able to joke beforehand with the doctors and nurses.

The procedure went beautifully. Sue suggested that I ask the nurse for some pain medication. She advised me to get in front of the wave of discomfort that was surely ahead of me. I assured her I was fine – better than I ever anticipated. I was flying high with a sense of well being and confidence once again in my physical ability. I was so certain of how well I was doing that I sent Sue and Lauren home to get some rest.

What I didn’t realize at the time, however, was that the effects of the anesthesia hadn’t worn off completely. It was deadening the pain I should have been feeling. Once it did wear off, I was plunged into an abyss of agony. The reality of the surgery – in effect having my leg sawed off and then attached to an artificial hip – began to set in.

All night in my hospital room I wrestled with the worst pain I had ever experienced. The hospital administered medication to give me some relief, but the pain was still unbearable. Making matters worse, the medication made me hallucinate. I experienced the sensation of falling asleep and then I would awaken, believing that I had been out for an hour or two. When I looked at the clock, however, only a few seconds had gone by. This happened again and again, all night long, believing I was asleep only to awaken confused three seconds later.

As I battled the pain, though, I was never alone. Throughout the night, I was sustained by the constant feeling that God was with me: I had not been abandoned. As I grappled for answers, including to the most terrifying question of all – who was I in the physically debilitated state? – God was on the other side of my struggle.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:37-39

How about we go on this journey together?