Alright, so why did I think Rob Bell's talk last night was fantastic? Because it was. Say what you will, but he is clearly a very gifted speaker, entertaining, and his content is deep, thought-provkoing, and inquisitive. In general, Bell talked about suffering and how we tend to think about suffering when the unthinkable happens to us or to someone we deeply love; and his challenge (and prayer) to those listening was that they might begin to ask a whole new set of questions about the experience of suffering and how God uses it to shape us into different kinds of people.
For the record, Bell did mention the cross and the suffering of Christ on that cross, but not the substitutionary atonement we receive as the result of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, which of course is the point of the cross. However I didn't leave thinking that he had intentionally left out this most critical Biblical truth. Instead I did what Bell had challenged me to do, I left thinking about suffering in a whole new way. Bell suggested, and I think he's right on, that when suffering happens, and it always happens, we tend to focus on asking, "Why?" and we never seem to move on to other equally critical questions, like, "What now?"
He's right. When it comes to suffering, we often focus on asking why God would allow this to happen. Why this pain? Why this evil? Why to my loved one? Why to me? But we rarely ask, "What now?" What can I learn from this? Who am I now that this unexpected and painful situation has happened to me?
No comments:
Post a Comment