::dialogue

I have felt profoundly challenged and inspired by David Dark's book, The Sacredness of Questioning Everything. (Get it here. Now.)




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These questions are almost as old as the Earth...

Why does God allow us to kill each other, to rape, molest and cheat and lie to each other, to commit horrifying acts like mass genocide and perverse persecution?
Why?
Why do girls drown on beaches in front of their friends while they're on vacation?
Why does my precious friend Robin have to see what she sees in places like Bangla Road in Phuket, Thailand?
Why, why, WHY?

Because we live in a fallen world.
God allows us to choose how to behave.
Some choose wisely, some choose poorly.

But if He has the power to force us to choose wisely, why didn't He create us that way?

God's mind is infinite.
Ours are finite.
Even if there were a complete answer - and there is, but only God knows it - your mind would not be capable of comprehending it.

It seems terribly cruel to allow my brain to ask questions whose answers it will be incapable of comprehending. Does that mean that God is terribly cruel?

No.
That's just your human understanding.
Remember, even your understanding is depraved.

So, wait...God allows us to make poor choices, to "miss the mark", as it were, because He loves us?
And he wants us to choose to love Him?
Because Love isn't authentic if it's forced?

Correct.

But if God created Love, then He could have created it any way that He wanted.
So why can't it work like this: "I love you, therefore I will use my omnipotence for your ultimate Good, and I will create you so that you are incapable of hurting anyone, and they are incapable of hurting you?"

Only God knows.
And remember, when we are hurt, He is hurting right along with us.
He is just as upset, if not more so, as we are.

But why would that be true?
Our hurt feelings are largely due to the fact that we are powerless to change our nature.
But God can.
If He can actually keep it from happening, why doesn't He?
Why does He get upset about it, rather than prevent it?

You do not understand this, because you do not need to.
Can you trust that?
Can you trust that He loves you?
Can you trust that He knows every question you have, even the ones you haven't asked yet? Can you trust that He listens to you, and does not dismiss your inquiries?
Can you trust that He is worthy of your trust?

Maybe.

I'm trying.

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"I believe deliverance begins with questions. It begins with people who love questions, people who live with questions and by questions, people who feel a deep joy when good questions are asked. When we meet these people -- some living, some through history and art -- things begin to change. Something is let loose. When we're exposed to the liveliness of holding everything up to the light of good questions -- what I call "sacred questioning" -- we discover that redemption is creeping into the way we think, believe, and see the world."

~David Dark, The Sacredness of Questioning Everything, p 14

::lottery

I like:

luminaries, fresh fruit centerpieces, underdogs, anthologies, purple gerber daisies, second chances, poignant pauses, listening, macro snapshots, kisses on the cheek, reusable tote bags, smiling babies, helicopters, pink sunsets, rusty hinges, novelty lunchboxes, thunder, cobblestone walkways, seahorses, literary quotes, long-lost friends, unexpected hugs, handwritten letters, lazy afternoons, cashews, patterned lampshades...

Et tu, dear reader?

::waterlogged

I grow weary of hearing complaints about weather.
Although I am not entirely innocent of weather-whining, so
I do understand the tendencies.

Maybe sometimes, for some of us, laments about the weather are merely masquerades.
They contain a much larger message; the ultimate frustration we feel about all the things over which we have no control.

We can decide how to behave and how to speak, but we cannot control how others will react.
We can make meticulous, detailed blueprints for our days, but outside forces may "conspire" to squash our best-laid plans.

These are just a few of the thoughts that passed through my brain this past week, when I realized that I have always found something special about rainy days.
They're really not so bad, dear reader.
They deliver nourishment to the earth, and foster countless opportunities for creativity.

Toddlers learn the fine art of puddle-splashing.

Emma, June 10

Raindrops linger in strategic locations, inviting us to marvel and capture.

And we are, hopefully, left with the residual wonder of a simple, soggy day.