A little faith in a GREAT God…

By way of reminder…

A client recently shared with me a personal struggle in one of his close relationships.  I listened and heard the depth of his pain and suffering.  His pain was real.  After some pain filled conversation, he turned to me and asked me what I thought about his situation.  He wanted my advice.  I, instead, asked him a question.  I asked him to remind himself and to remind me of his worldview, his deepest held beliefs.  He reminded me that he wanted an answer not another question.  He wasn’t happy with my response.  Fair enough, I replied.

I told him to live out his deepest held beliefs.  I told him that his faith was misplaced.  I told him to put his faith in God and move toward the other person with the truth in LOVE and without his long list of expectations.  He scoffed at my answer and, slightly under his breath, commented that following my advice would require a depth of faith that he,  did not possess.  No it won’t, I replied with an almost reflexive response.  The truth is that all that is required is a little faith in a GREAT God.

N.T. Wright in his book, Simply Christian, delivers a powerful “AND.”  Here it is…

“We are made for each other.  Yet making relationships work, let alone making them flourish, is often remarkably difficult.  We all know that justice matters, yet it slips through our fingers.  We mostly know that there is such a thing as spirituality, and that it’s important, yet it’s hard to refute the charge that it’s all wishful thinking.  In the same way, we all know that we belong in communities, that we were made to be social creatures.  Yet there are many times when we are tempted to slam the door and stomp off into the night by ourselves, simultaneously making the statement that we don’t belong anymore and that we want someone to take pity on us, to come to the rescue and comfort us.  We all know we belong in relationships, but we can’t quite work out how to get them right.  The voice we hear echoing in our heads and hearts keeps reminding us of both parts of this paradox, and it’s worth pondering why.”

Remember, we are made to belong AND become. AND, we will forever remain a work in process.  Is it any wonder that our relationships will follow suit?

God, help me to follow your lead in my relationships.  God, help me to, at the same time, take the lead in building a few transformational relationships.  God, help me to get comfortable living in the paradox.

God, help me….