Tomorrow I'm preaching on "A Theology of Suffering."
Of course I can not cover it all, but we're going to cover a lot of ground.
As preachers often say, we must first preach to God, then to ourselves, then to others.
We first "preach" to God, making sure we are faithfully reflecting back His truth. If it doesn't stand up to Scripture, it doesn't stand. We make sure our personality and preferences don't compete with God's revelation, but rather compliment it.
Then we preach to ourselves. It has to start with us if it's going to be authentic and winsome.
That said, in preparing to preach on suffering, I've had to examine the Scriptures, examine myself, and wrestle with what is one of the most problematic issues inside and outside of the church.
How do we reconcile a infinitely powerful and loving God, which the scriptures reveal, with the pain and suffering that exists in the world, which the scriptures also reveal?
It's troubling for many believers, and it is the main objection of many who reject Jesus and the Bible.
Tomorrow we're going to slug it out. We're going to wrestle this one into submission, and find that while we may still have many questions, we might also find a savior who not only understands our pain, can use our pain, and stands in solidarity with us through our pain.
PS, a helpful biblical study is found at http://www.relationshipskills.com/acticles.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment