Skip to main content

What's for real?

One of the taglines of evangelical Christianity today is authenticity, and rightfully so because wouldn't we want to be honest and true with those were walking the same spiritual path that we are walking? As we close our eyes at night to go to sleep the conscience rests or it is at unrest I think all this depends on whether or not we are being truly authentic. The Bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen, and it is with the eyes of faith that we rest truly in God. One of the things that I have to constantly deal with is the fact that I'm on medications for the rest of my life. This is a choice that I made because I see the commonsense in medications. Some would say that I'm better off going it another way quite possibly a more natural way of dealing with depression, and they might have a point. But the way that society is structured right now leave no other option but to seek the help of those who are most equipped to deal with the illness that I'm suffering from. Emotional illness or depression cannot be cured but he can be treated through medications. This leaves those with some who are suffering, a sense of hope for the future and for today.

If we had no medication to treat depression I don't think that many people would be able to function in everyday society. The fact that there are churches and hospitals and minister people like myself is a great testimony to the second chance opportunities that those like myself get after being diagnosed with a serious illness. Part of the worry and the concern is the side effects that some of these medications seem to have. It seems like it's a no-win situation. You've been diagnosed with an illness and in order for you to be well again you have to take something that in effect can cause damage to your body. It would seem obvious to those not suffering with an emotional illness that certain medications would definitely be out of the question. But that hasn't been my experience. I really don't know what my life would look like if I stopped taking my medications, I know I might revert back to old behavioral problems, but isn't that what the medication is treating? The question I have right now about medications is if they're only treating the behavior and they're not curing the illness then why am I still taking them? Am I some kind of guinea pig to society that I have to behave in a certain way? The answer to that question is kind of tricky because yes we are called to be responsible human beings and if we cannot do that on our own, then some kind of therapy or medication is needed in order to control behaviors that are out of control. I don't think I was ever at that point where I was about to lose control but very easily with the symptoms that I was having was not able to think properly. This caused confusion in my mind.

Hence I return to what is real. What is real is that I am loved by God and loved by others. What is real is that God has promised a future for me. What is real is that I'm forgiven of my sins through Jesus Christ. What is real is that life isn't perfect and in the imperfections we find beauty. There is no beauty in ugliness but there is beauty to be found when we are open to God and to the life that he brings to us. I have found this to be true not only in my thoughts but in my experiences. God is love and life is beauty. Find beauty in love.

This is Mike.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On Christian Marriage. (Short)

On Christian Marriage. (Short) The modern co-habitation crisis has produced a lot of single moms and dads, and has fractured "family units" allowing other family members and relatives to take a bigger role in these "Separated families." There isn't a "one cause" why families have separated or divorced, it is a complicated issue, sometimes resulting in very hard emotions for Society to process. Things like the "millennial sexual revolution" have contributed to the widespread "non-committal" attitude, which in turn has given the traditional marriage the "black eye" it currently has and has turned many Christian men away from seeking a life partner. The more society devalues "traditional marriage" the more co-habitation you will see in all the other generations as well as the Millennials. This is Mike.
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Christians must show Mutual Concern for One another.

  Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. Psalm 142:4. Christians in the church should have mutual concern for one another, this is what it means to be part of the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:25. It’s takes good pastoral leadership to foster this sense of concern, and where it is missing, individuals who are suffering in the church are overlooked and not supported. Every believer needs support and encouragement, but when this is missing, the church divides and loses it power and testimony. Christians live like the world, and become vulnerable to Satan’s attacks when nobody is supporting them outside the church. I used to belong to an evangelical church which had great leadership, and something called small groups. This church felt like a family and I had people who shared my Christian walk with me when I was not in the church building. I have been attending a different denomination that doesn’t hav...
Post a Comment
Read more

Age of Brokenness.

  We are living in an age of brokenness, no matter what age you are, you probably have been touched with relationships falling apart, which causes more and more people to live in isolation. In this generation there is less of an incentive to heal and reconcile relationships, but that doesn’t excuse the amount of people who are broken. Why people don’t seem to be motivated to heal relationships is because our beliefs about faith and God have changed, really giving us less of an incentive to do what our religion says. If I act from my personal beliefs, but the person that I am responding to has abandoned religious beliefs, than the response to my wanting things to be better can be misinterpreted and rejected then by someone else. Generally when a society has expectations about broken relationships, loneliness and isolation, and the beliefs are generally accepted, society becomes a more compassionate society, because all value the same things. When religious values are undermined and ...
Post a Comment
Read more