Challenges of Faith
I continue to spend much time praying and pondering over my friend who has cancer during this week of her extensive chemotherapy. I have realized that when faced with such life-or-death issues- actually issues of life and death- much of what we have understood our faith to be is seriously challenged. Not necessarily in a bad way, but in the way that brings us face to face with a lot more of our humanity than we may care to admit.

• We realize that we are often selfish in our prayers.
• We realize that we are often looking at God as the Santa-in-heaven-type God.
• We realize that so much of what we take for granted in life day by day is an amazing gift that we often overlook.
• We realize that our vision is narrow and our perception weak.

Over the years as a pastor I have heard people find ways to blame themselves for what is happening, blame others, blame God. It's not supposed to be this way. God promised blessing and good things. What's good about this? How can God let this happen to a good person. On and on we go, seeking for solutions and answers that are far beyond our simple human powers to understand.

I don't judge that. I do the same in my own ways. When alone, with my thoughts going where they will, I want answers that will never come for questions that are probably the wrong questions. Then I have no choice but to give it all over to God. I have no choice but to trust that no matter what God is still in God's heaven and all is just as the world has always been.

Which, no matter what the circumstance is all that I can ever do.