To Endure

No temptation has seized you that isn't common for people.  But God is faithful. He won't allow you to be tempted beyond your abilities. Instead, with the temptation,  God will also supply a way out so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

I'm readying - in case you haven't noticed - Adam Hamilton's book, Half Truths. My thoughts in this post were inspired by the chapter called "God Won't Give You More than You Can Handle."

That passage of scripture is often used to support the half truth discussed in the chapter, but look at it more closely. What really struck me as I read that passage is the phrase, "God will supply a way out so that you will be able to endure it."

That's such as switch on the common thought, isn't it? It isn't about God testing us - it isn't about God placing temptation in our path or hardship in our lives up to our capacity to endure. It's about God's presence in our lives, helping us to make it through life.

And, for me, that is much more in line with the God of the Bible - and much more encouraging for the faithful.

Suffering

I wish I had written this, but I did not. I found it in Adam Hamilton's book, Half Truths, and he is quoting someone else.  I'll leave it to your reading.

Suffering is not God's desire for us, but it occurs in the process of life.  Suffering is not given to teach us something, but through it we may learn  Suffering is not given to punish us, but sometimes it is the consequence of our sin or poor judgment  Suffering does not occur because our faith is weak, but through it our faith may be strengthened. God does not depend on human suffering to achieve his purposes, but sometimes through suffering his purposes are achieved. Suffering can either destroy us, or it can add meaning to our life.

Comfort in Control

I'm reading Adam Hamilton's book, Half Truths.  In the chapter, "Everything Happens for a Reason," he writes this about why it is comforting to some to assume that God is in control of everything:

"In a world where there is much uncertainty, where doubt and questioning are such a prominent part of life, one reaction is a retreat toward absolute certainty. And in a world that seems so out of control some find it comforting to imagine every detail of life begin controlled by the plan and will of God."

Are we tempted to respond to the uncertainty in the world by developing faith that says "God is in control"?  Don't get me wrong - I do believe God is omnnipotent - all powerful, but I also believe that God has given us free will.  Is the fear we feel in our world - our sense of a lack of control of what happens around us - responsible for our retreating into the idea that "everything happens for a reason"?

Control

I have two sons, aged 24 and 21. One of the most difficult aspects of parenting adult sons (or daughters, I imagine) is a lack of control. When they were younger, we made the decisions for them. Now that they are adults, they make their own decisions. And we watch those decisions play out in their lives.

It's the way it has to be, isn't it? It's actually one of the main goals of raising them - that they could live a life, making their own decisions. 

Why are we sometimes reluctant to believe that God has given us free choice? If we can let go of our children - because doing so is in their best interest and our own - why are we reluctant to think that God doesn't do the same thing?  

Or do we on the one hand say, "We have free choice," and then on the other hand think, "Everything happens according to God's will - God is completely in control of all that happens." Do we believe the second statement and not the first, or do we miss that believing both things is a disconnect?

Adam Hamilton, in Half Truths, says, "God is more like a parent who invites his children to make their own choices, even knowing they will sometimes make the wrong ones." If that is true, and I believe it is, then we have responsiblity for the consequences in the world, and it's much harder to blame God for them.