Vulnerability, and Why it frightens us.

The definition of life, is something that is full of life. We say we only have one life to live, unless you believe in reincarnation. The question we are asking ourselves is wrong and creates anxiety, because the question is "How do we eliminate suffering?" We are not a religious society anymore, so humans place absolutely no value on suffering anymore! Instead we try to eliminate suffering and in the process miss out on part of the meaning of life. We have forgotten Jesus on the cross, and the amount of suffering that God the Son underwent to purchase our freedom and salvation. Part of the reason why humanity devalues suffering is because they no longer see suffering as redemptive.

No longer do Christians pray for a happy death, now an oxymoron, but they pray for a quick exit from this life and a glorious entrance into the life beyond. Suffering for your faith is avoided at all costs, and the promise of a hedonistic after life, devoid of holiness is what most people want! The world teaches us that there is no value in any kind of suffering or disability, and in it's pride tries to eliminate the process of redemption, which sometimes includes suffering. I remember a time in my life, where I was actually scared of those who were vulnerable, but I didn't turn away from them. Even though they made me feel uncomfortable, I understand how some people are terrified of suffering.

Here we all are in unprecedented times, where suffering and death are becoming common place in this pandemic, but a lot of us still are terrified of being vulnerable ourselves. Suffering can humble us, because in fact it brings us all very low. The grief comes when we don't know how to end our suffering, so you look for a quick exit or relief, which consequently will bring more pain not less. This is why Jesus had to suffer. We needed someone, who was God by the way, to show us not how to end our pain, but to unite our suffering to Himself. This is a big part of being a Christian, not ending our suffering as soon as possible, but allowing the Lord to suffer with us. The Lord determines the amount of time we suffer, not us. This is a hard lesson for some to learn, but when our time comes, hopefully we will see our suffering as something to be embraced, not something to be eliminated! This is Mike.

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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.

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...

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 ...

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