Here is a link to my first podcast for Theology and Backgammon:
http://theologyandbackgammon.podomatic.com/player/web/2011-02-17T10_45_52-08_00
Please feel free to listen, interact with, comment, challenge, and whatever else it is that you do on here. The topic is suffering from a Christian perspective.
Just a note, there is no need to bother with the link now. It is posted on our page to the right.
ReplyDeleteHi Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI listened to your pod cast. Just from my own personal experience; in the times when I was physically the strongest, I was spiritually the weakest, and when I was 25 years old and found myself utterly debilitated with a diagnosis of an extremely destructive form of Rheumatoid Arthritis, and no doctor at the Cleveland Clinic giving me any hope for any meaningful recovery, I found super human SPIRITUAL strength. Rheumatoid Arthritis was the greatest blessing God ever gave me. If it weren't for that disease, I don't know where I would be spiritually today. God brought me back to himself through that disease. I didn't know it at the time, but now as I look back, His hand of tender mercy was upon me, and I saw Him work in ways I never thought possible.
In Paul's case, he was not wealthy, he was not a super physical specimen, he did not wield any great power and in his day health, wealth, and power was believed to be a sign that you had favor with God. If you were sick or poor, everyone was asking each other what awful sin was there in your life that caused God pour out His wrath upon you? But we have the witness from Paul who wrote a goodly amount of the New Testament that physical health, physical wealth, political power, and fame are meaningless to almighty God. He looks for those who are meek, lowly, poor in spirit, and humble to do great things for His Kingdom. As Pastor Jordan used to say, "I think God does it that way so, at the end of the day, everyone will know beyond any doubt that God himself deserves all the glory for I was nothing and He made me into a precious vessel and used me for His glory."
There is nothing like suffering to show us far short we fall and how much we need to rely on God for everything.
By the way, I went by Malone College a few days ago, and there were banners with the faces of Malone students hanging on the light post over 25th Street. One of the pictures is either you or your identical twin. Did they ever take publicity photos of you back at Malone? I'm just sayin'....
Tim Billheimer
Thanks for sharing a bit of your story, Tim. You hit on a lot of key points concerning the culture's perception of suffering as a curse for unfaithfulness, etc. I love how the Apostle Paul finds the new meaning of suffering as sharing in those of Christ. There is certainly something to say for suffering drawing us to God in such a way that we are more aware of him. I love your words of wisdom from the mouth of Pastor Jordan . . . they are timeless words. That is exactly what Paul says too. He wrote that "we have this treasure in clay jars so that it may be made known that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us" (2 Cor. 4). A fragile clay jar carries within it something extraordinary--powerful paradox. When we think of power and glory we think of gold, crowns, halos, wealth and health, etc. But Paul says that the power and the glory of God are made visible in how fragile we are; and this weakness he even calls the evidence of Christ and his Spirit in us.
ReplyDeleteOh, and unfortunately yes, you did see me on 25th st. I tried to get incentives out of it, but all they gave me was a free t-shirt at the Alive festival. They took pictures in one of my smaller classes; but they never asked if they could use them. Haha. Good hearing from you.