It’s no secret that everyone is created as imperfect human beings because ultimately, that is the cause of our messy lives. Since we are flawed human beings, were more susceptible to stray away from God and his plan for each and every one of us. As a result, we desperately need God’s love and mercy to steer us back on the path he has already paved for us. We all let emotions take the best of us weather that’s anger, frustration, or even regrets, but the key is to trust in God and let him take take full control of your life because you will uncover the greatest gift of his divine eternal grace.
Lisa Harper is a popular bible teacher, speaker, and author. In her book “ A perfect Mess”, she shines light on how the bible connects to modern life. She goes about telling her experiences that exemplify how in “not so great” moments, God sees his child in need of his perfect love. In the article “ How Should I Live Life as a Christian Teen?” written by Catiana Nak Kheiyn, she discusses how even though we face hardships, God is on our side guiding us through it all.
The article and the book both mention how we can get caught up in the false perceptions of Christianity. As a Christian, a man made list of do’s and dont’s does not exist. God’s word is the
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Throughout Harper’s book and Kheiyn’s article, I found five main points that stood out to me in relating to helping me understand why bad things happen to good people. First, God did not create pain and suffering, man has through sin and defiance. Second, although suffering is not good, God uses it to achieve good. The third point tells us that the day will come where your misery will no longer exist and God will judge evil. The fourth states that our suffering does not even compare to what God has in store for his followers. Lastly, we must choose whether to let the pain get the best of us or turn to God for peace and
He wants to see whether we are capable of overcoming our base instincts... We have no right to despair. And if He punishes us mercilessly, it is a sign that He loves us that much more…” (Wiesel 45) Akiba Drumer’s unshakable faith in God undoubtedly shows the toughness of the human spirit.
Juan, with numerous failed attempts in getting his family to safety, once lost his patience with God crying, “What’s wrong with You? I thought we had a deal!” (137). As the chapter progresses, Juan suddenly experiences religious inspiration, and “instead of feeling abandoned by God, he felt close to Him” (138) showing how frustration generates a stronger connection between man and God. In addition, Doña Margarita teaches Salvador to avoid frustration by using the power of God “for this is God’s great plan, that people rise up beyond their personal hatreds” (471).
Everyone has experienced pain, but we all deal with it differently. Some people try to avoid experiencing pain, for they are scared; while others accept their punishment and agony. Moral people tolerate their pain and trauma by making their traumatic experience meaningful and important. They learn from their punishment and try to provide insight. In the stories of Antigone and Boycott, Letter From Birmingham Jail, righteous people fought for their beliefs without violence and dealt with their suffering without hesitation.
After failing to know the answer to Nathan’s question about God’s grace, Leah is disappointed in herself and wishes “if only I [she] could ever bring forth all that I [she] knew quickly enough to suit Father” (37). Leah devotes herself to her father’s expectations similar to how she devotes herself to God and does not receive any validation back from her father. Similarly, Christians do not have physical evidence of reciprocated love and therefore require a strong foundation of faith; Leah’s strong foundation in God parallels her support in her father. However, after gaining a new perspective on the native belief systems, Leah begins to distance herself from Nathan’s religious patriarchal authority and looks to find a new source she can adore.
And if God is God, why is He letting us suffer?” (1) The lifelong quest for answers to these questions shaped his theology
What does Your grandeur mean, Master of the Universe, in the face of all this cowardice, this decay, and this misery? Why do you go on troubling these poor people's wounded minds, their ailing bodies?” (66). This presents the thought that with the constant physical struggle and torment, he begins to question whether those things he believes in strongly are even valid things. He questions why all these people need to suffer and why God has allowed them to suffer for his cause.
“I have learned that the Father relentlessly works to reshape his blood-brought children into the likeness of his son...our task, however, is not merely to endure suffering, but to embrace it, find God on it and draw closer to him through it. Simply put, ‘There is no remedy for this darkness but to sink in it.” A quote from Bruce Demarest, found in his book Seasons of the Soul, discusses the three stages of spiritual development, orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. Disorientation is the stage where trials and sufferings are faced, but most importantly, a stage where we use our pains and sufferings to help us grow. Murray Decker explains disorientation as a stage of “lostness and dryness.”
Sufferings brought on by conflict include negative guarantees of life. Victor Frankl’s “The Case for a Tragic Optimism” states, “...aspects of human existence which may be circumscribed by: (1) pain; (2) guilt; and (3) death.” But, with these guaranteed sufferings that come from inevitable conflict, how can we as humans pull through and
The Hand of God is not exclusive, thus believers and nonbelievers are always at His mercy. He is willing to save all mankind, even if they suppress the truth and persecute His followers. Death Be Not Proud, written by John Gunther, shares the story of Johnny, a young boy battling a brain tumor. He was to experience a lot of pain during treatment and expected to lose his sight after having an operation, However, God’s grace and mercy allows Johnny to live much longer than expected, have minimal pain, and avoid blindness. God does not ignore problems when they arise, as he is always involved in what solution may be found.
It is a convenient and comforting respond to unfortunate and even devastating ‘fate’. The pain becomes bearable to those who suffer because it is all part of a bigger plan, it is more than ‘you’. This concept is also built upon an irrational fundamental attitude, “the surrender of self to the ordering power of society.” (54) The problem of theodicy does not end at that.
Within a world that has endured so much tragedy, and so many crippling hardships, people are often forced to consider how exactly they are going to handle the adversity that they are faced with. Do they run at it head on and recklessly attempt to deal with it? Do they lose faith with their religion and their God? Or do they simply pray, and hope that amongst all of their misery that something good will come of it and a light will be found in the end? Those are the hard decisions that people are forced to make on the daily, and maybe the questions that we have, or the lack of faith we endure is what makes us stronger at the end of the day.
Throughout humanity, the idea of suffering played a major role in human lives, in some cases by ending it. Nevertheless, according to popular religious traditions, the first humans, Adam and Eve, were placed on Earth to suffer for their sins in a life of misery. All humans are a part of this “original sin,” thus there is no such thing as innocent humans suffering in the world. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Popular religious themes are centered on the idea of continual suffering in life, like the Israelites who continued to suffer through the Holocaust.
God’s Amazing Grace God loves all humankind, even the sinners. His love is so great that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to suffer and be crucified on the cross to saves us all from sin. It is through His amazing grace that sinners are forgiven of their sins and are able to live eternally in the Kingdom of God. These Christian principles are what Flannery O 'Connor uses as the main subject in many of her stories. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “Redemption’” and “Parker’s Back,” O’Connor uses the theme of salvation to show how God’s love and forgiveness are available to people in everyday life.
The reality of the world's ongoing suffering can be a heavy burden to bear, and it is not surprising that it might manifest in his
In her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor tackles the issue of grace, showing that no matter the person, everyone can attain and earn grace. The grandmother and the Misfit, though they appear to be quite different people, are both the same at the core: They are sinners in need of Christ. The Misfit and the grandmother are both capable of change and accepting God, but only the grandmother reaches this revelation before her death. Grace is one of the most important ideas in the Bible and Christianity. Grace is “the love of God shown to the unlovely; the peace of God given to the restless; the unmerited favor of God,” (Holcomb).