"Blessed are the detached, for they do not ache"

Recently I have been in email conversation with a parent who has recently taken a job as a substitute teacher at a local middle school. Day in and day out she is overwhelmed by mess that the youth in the schools are in. The other teachers and counselors have basically told her that it is best to keep her distance emotionally. In pain and frustration she wrote at the end of an e-mail "blessed are the detached, for they do not ache." She doesn't feel this way, and cares deeply about the youth she interacts with, but it's been challenging. This is not a response to her or advice on how to handle it (she is a prayerful parent), but some thoughts on how we view our role in caring for the world and the people in it.

"Blessed are the detached, for they do not ache." This phrase was particularly intriguing to me. I've only been working full time with youth for about a year, but it's obvious the mess that their world can be. Whether or not we were caught up in it, we have all been down the hallways of high schools where students were disrespectful, got a hold of drugs and alcohol, slept around, hurt themselves and others. We hear stories so often that we become detached from the reality. It's not that we don't believe that it's happening, we just don't feel it anymore. We have left those hallways.

How about in the world? The past few months have been full of stories of war, tragedies, and natural disasters that have taken many lives, but for most of us it's a story on the news. It sounds terrible, but we are detached emotionally. It can seem like there are too many issues and problems to take care of so why bother? How can we? We can't go to Japan and Alabama and Missouri or send enough money to help each of them adequately or change anything about the devastation that is left behind. Can we?

I don't believe I have the answer, but I'm not sure detachment is the answer. Detachment gives the impression that we don't care, that it doesn't matter to us. Truthfully, if we put all our energy into all of the world's problems we would be constantly heartbroken at our inability to make things better. I do believe we are suppose to care, but we can't expect the change anything. That sounds dismal, but let me explain. 

All of our efforts to make the world a better place will be in vain if we lack trust in how God is moving in the world. When God burdens our hearts with the mess that the world is in, I think he is breaking our hearts for what breaks his, but he has a better picture in mind. 

2 Corinthians 5

In this passage Paul is talking about his heart for a people. Like, Paul we want others to know the love and the freedom that is offered in Christ. It’s not on our shoulders to fix the world, but God will use us in the process of reconciling all things back to him, but it’s never quick or easy and the work won’t be done until he sees it to completion. 

When we live our lives for Christ, it's impossible to be detached. God is relational and attached to all of his creation. He calls us to be imitators of Christ in love and our attitude, so when our hearts are broken for the pain around us, there is a response required. I don't think that response is always to give money, or go to another country. Sometimes it's as simple, but powerful as prayer. Paul says this:

"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God." (v.20)

We are ambassadors to Christ and are called to his service. We can give all our money away and travel the world helping people, but nothing will be as powerful as prayer. In communion with God, he will guide us to the places we must give our time, energy, and money and he will intercede for those we lift up to him in prayer. If we believe in the power of prayer it's the easiest thing to do, but too often we feel like if we don't fix it, nothing will happen. Prayer is not an excuse not to act when you feel God has called you to go somewhere or speak to someone, but prayer is not inaction either; it's far from it.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Does Love Win?

I recently picked up a book called Love Wins by Rob Bell. To be honest, I only picked it up because it was controversial. Many in the Christian community were in an uproar about it because they believe Rob Bell is teaching universalism. I have to say I was disappointed with all the commotion.

I met this book with similar feelings to my conversation about music in the church. I believe Rob Bell is a christian trying to figure out how to live for God and to encourage others to be disciples. I believe he is a praying man and he knows his scriptures. Due to his human nature, in the process of his writing, he probably took some things out of context,and uses the Word to prove HIS point instead of the clear and precise message of the Gospel (which each and every one of us has our own interpretation of). None of us would ever do that right?

I don't agree with some aspects of the book, but it does bring up many questions like what does it mean to be saved? How do we get to heaven? What is hell? Where is it? What happens to those who die without having heard the Gospel, or haven't been baptized or saved? The man on the cross next to Jesus was told he would spend his life in paradise not ever attempting to follow Jesus, but the Bible says that we have to be born again and baptized and to forgive and then we will be saved. Rob Bell raises all these questions and best answer I can think of is that in Isaiah 55:8 God tells us that are ways are not his ways.

We spend so much time trying to put God in a box, trying to explain the eternal and spiritual truths that God has not brough into the light yet. Asking these questions means we are seeking understanding, but when we try to answer them in the context of something that we are not experiencing, we hold our own theology and worldview above the scriptures. God challenges us through His word to be disciples, to care for the widows and orphans, to share the good news,  and ultimately to love Him above all else.

The actions we take and decisions that we make in this life have an impact in the kingdom. A few weeks back we talked about Esther at our youth group. Esther's decision to go before the king saved lives. Noah built the ark and followed God blindly. The disciples who followed Jesus started the first churches, prayed, studied, and healed. God initiated each of those relationships, but the choices and decisions that they made had an eternal impact.

How we spend our time, energy, money,  and thoughts is to be a reflection of the mind of Christ. When we seek God in our lives and live out the call he has put on our lives without trying to condemn others and to put Him in a box, the victory of love that has already been won on the cross begins to shine through God's people.