Do you have friends who are in trouble?Fight sin. Or maybe you’re discouraged, because being a Christian is difficult, maybe he’s paralyzed by his own faith. Colleagues don’t like it. Neighbors think it’s a little weird.
Imagine your friend telling you that you wonder if being a Christian is really worth it. He is tired of being discriminated against for the movies he watches. You are tired of fighting the temptation to quit porn. And frankly, he’s tired of hearing that he shouldn’t live for himself. He realizes what could happen if he were willing to step on other people on the way to the top, like everyone else. Think better of the car you could drive if you didn’t give 10% of your salary to the church. Your friend says “it’s not fair. ” He’s a little mad at God.
- In addition.
- He is tired of always being excluded when the subject of family reunification is abortion or homosexuality.
- He no longer wants to be so as a stubborn.
- Forewarned and prudish Christian.
- Ready to give up defending the exclusivity of Jesus Christ.
- In a pluralistic world.
And above all, he is tired of serving others and trying to love those he does not like, he just wants to lose his temper like everyone else and feed feelings of vengeance, he is exhausted from suffering because he is Christian and tired of fighting. Christian struggles It is not certain that all this is worthwhile now or if it will ever be worth it.
Then you sit down and write a letter to this Christian friend, what do you say?Would you say that, above all, God wants me to be happy, that God would not ask him for anything that would cost his friends or his money?Are you saying that Christianity must change, or die, that God’s truths will take a different direction?form with each generation and then should not cling to old-fashioned beliefs about sexuality and eternal suffering assures you that everything you suffer or face does not come from the hands of a sovereign God, but from a God who suffers with him?
Do you tell him that there is nothing wrong with being angry with God for the things of life and that, in fact, the doubts and bitterness he feels in God are an indication of the strength of his faith?Thank you so much for sharing your story. We all have stories like that, and it was great to hear yours. Would you tell him that faith is an adventure and that he should enjoy the journey?By concluding that the last thing a suffering person needs is theology, are you simply telling him that faith is a mystery and that it is not the greatest thing we have?What would you say to your friend who is suffering, struggling and about to give up?
If you were the Apostle John, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, you would speak of God:
John to the seven churches of the province of Asia: thank you and peace to you on the part of the one who is, who was and must come, of the seven spirits before his throne and of Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn. of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth, he loves us and delivered us from our sins with his blood, and made us a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father. To be already glory and power for all! Amen: behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will cry for him. It’ll be the same! Amen. ” I am the Alpha and the Omega,” said the Lord God, “What, what was it, and what is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1. 4-8).
It is astonishing how few of us speak of God to others, not of the church or of being a Christian, but of God, I do not know if we are afraid of being irrelevant or of seeming too spiritual. Or if we just don’t think that knowing God will help?But for some reason, our initial reaction when our friends struggle or suffer temptation is to talk about something other than God.
But that shouldn’t be the case
The churches of Asia Minor were under pressure until they almost disappeared, some suffered because of their faith and others renounced it, God called them to overcome the struggles, overcome temptation and emerge victorious from the conquering king Jesus, then God gives a revelation to Jesus, who made him known to John through an angel, and John then writes for the churches of Asia Minor. And the first thing John said to these Christians refers to the majesty of our Trinitarian God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
What you and I need most is not an affirmation of our stories, empty, contentless affirmations about the mysterious path of faith, small discussions about morality, or simply a decline in God’s sovereignty. What we really need is to look at God in all his terrible splendor and wonderful power.
After that, we need friends and be friends like our friend on Patmos Island.