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Did God Fail?

Posted Jun 13 2010 by Jonathan Brink in , , with 10 Comments

Sometimes I think God allows pain in order to get us to the point of admitting what we don’t want to admit.

Recently I was talking with some friends about some very important aspects of my life.  We were lamenting in some regards.  It was a very hard conversation but beautiful in many ways.  We were all sharing what was one our hearts and there was no holding back.  But at the same time it was the recognition that deep within we were hurting inside.

And one of my friends said, “I sometimes wonder if God failed?”

There was a long moment of silence as we all let the question sink in.  It wasn’t that we had reached a point of nihilism and wanted to give up on God.  It was that we had created a space of grace for someone to speak one of the deepest fears we had all felt.

I sometimes wondered if the disciples came to the same conclusion at Golgotha.  Seeing Jesus on the cross, I can imagine a few raising their hands at God in the heavens and saying, “Did you fail?”

I walked away recognizing that as much as my pain hurts, it also restores.  It frees my soul from my own bullshit.  It liberates me from pretension.  But it doesn’t leave me there.  Friday gave way to Sunday.  It calls me to resurrection and hope, to discover my own faith that comes FROM suffering.

What is the one question your suffering is creating?

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About the Author

Jonathan BrinkI am an business development and communications consultant. I am also the senior editor and publisher for Civitas Press. I recently published, Discovering The God Imagination: Reconstructing A Whole, New Christianity. (Civitas, 2011)View all posts by Jonathan Brink →

  • http://kimxtom.blogpost.com kimxtom

    why church?

  • http://kimxtom.blogpost.com kimxtom

    why church?

  • http://jonathanbrink.com Jonathan Brink

    Kim help me with your comment. I'm not sure of its context.

  • http://jonathanbrink.com Jonathan Brink

    Kim help me with your comment. I'm not sure of its context.

  • http://kimxtom.blogpost.com kimxtom

    Jonathon – lately I've been pondering – why church? What is next for the church as an idea and for church as the reality that I participate in weekly? Diane Butler Bass says “church should only be about comfort for the sick, the dying, the grieving, and the oppressed. Everybody else–buck up and change the world.”

    I have kind of felt that my calling was to help remind “the church” that it has a responsibility to change the world, but it's definitely an under-appreciated role (to say the least;). Because of this, where my church once was a place of growth and opportunity, it now leaves me feeling tapped out and soul-weary. So it kind of feels like we are going through a divorce, of sorts. It is a painful acknowledgment of my/our humanity and our ongoing ability to fail.

    more thoughts @ http://kimxtom.blogspot.com/2010/04/why-church….

  • http://kimxtom.blogpost.com kimxtom

    Jonathon – lately I've been pondering – why church? What is next for the church as an idea and for church as the reality that I participate in weekly? Diane Butler Bass says “church should only be about comfort for the sick, the dying, the grieving, and the oppressed. Everybody else–buck up and change the world.”

    I have kind of felt that my calling was to help remind “the church” that it has a responsibility to change the world, but it's definitely an under-appreciated role (to say the least;). Because of this, where my church once was a place of growth and opportunity, it now leaves me feeling tapped out and soul-weary. So it kind of feels like we are going through a divorce, of sorts. It is a painful acknowledgment of my/our humanity and our ongoing ability to fail.

    more thoughts @ http://kimxtom.blogspot.com/2010/04/why-church….

  • http://jonathanbrink.com Jonathan Brink

    Kim, I'm not so sure I agree with Bass' assertion. That's kind of an overstatement to be honest. But at the same time, I don't doubt that it our current models lead to complacency.

  • http://jonathanbrink.com Jonathan Brink

    Kim, I'm not so sure I agree with Bass' assertion. That's kind of an overstatement to be honest. But at the same time, I don't doubt that it our current models lead to complacency.

  • http://jonathanbrink.com Jonathan Brink

    Kim, I’m not so sure I agree with Bass’ assertion. That’s kind of an overstatement to be honest. But at the same time, I don’t doubt that it our current models lead to complacency.

  • Marian

    So let me jump in Kim and Jonathan. Been having that very conversation with a fellow coach this morning. For me I have to separate the local structure from the church over all. When I shared my heart cry for raising up within the church, healed, intentional leaders who will go out an make a difference , he replied that often that is done outside the church structure. I think that’s where we get hung up. It has been my biggest place of suffering in the church. As he encouraged me, I found myself believing again that our heart cry can be carried out but we are too confined in our thinking as to how! We must create our own community or tribe from within and outside our church body and use our influence to create the reality we want. Maybe we have it backwards. If the church structure needs to change, maybe we should bring true church into the church by modeling it from the outside instead of expecting the structure to be the model. We are the church! nnAs you say, just because we perceive something doesn’t make it true. Maybe we need to change our perception! n

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