JUST SAYING ALOUD

The Shortest Path to Intimacy is Suffering

The dominant characteristic of an authentic spiritual life is the gratitude that flows from trust – not only for all the gifts that I receive from God but gratitude for all suffering. Because in that purifying experience, suffering has often been the shortest path to intimacy with God. (Brennan Manning)

I couldn’t agree more with Brennan Manning when he said that “suffering has often been the shortest path to intimacy with God.” Today, we have a lot of self-styled preachers/pastors who would avoid talking about suffering like it is akin to leprosy. Their theology does not include suffering, problems in life, crisis and sickness, etc. because it’s all about grace, about been positive, and about health and prosperity.

The term intimacy with God has been around for a long time now. There have been many who tried to expound on what it means to have intimacy. Again a lot of self-appointed spiritual sheriffs in God’s Kingdom who will not hesitate to declare that they have more intimacy with the Father than others. How they define it beats me. Sometimes I get the feeling that intimacy with the Father means some feelings, some sort of experience they felt that is tangible when they spend time soaking in prayers. My relationship with the Father is not dependant upon the amount of time I spend in the prayer room. To me, it depends more on my obedience to what the Lord has already revealed through his Word. It depends on my response to the circumstances around me or happens to me. When I go through suffering for the Lord I am put to the test of my faith, my love for Him and obedience. When I pass through those testing times and come out on the other side unscathed then I would have gone through the purifying effect of God’s love – I learned obedience – I experience intimacy with the Father.

Intimacy has a lot to do with experiencing the reality of his love in the midst of difficulty, experiencing the reality of his mercy and grace when things don’t go my way, and when my own strength fails me – there I reached out to find his hand – there I would feel the reality of God himself – the reality of true intimacy. So yes, suffering has a way of clearing the path for intimacy with God.

Code of Decorum

What if a community feels that the one who comes to minister to them should have a certain code of decorum, for example, his appearance? What if the community feels that part of the code of decorum is not to have any part of his / her body pierced, carved, or tattooed? And when approached to respect the community he/she, as a guest, instead said that God told him to do that to break the cultural tradition of man, to keep up with the time, and to break free from cultural mores, what should be the responds?

To insist that he removes the earring, the pierced nose or chin studs would be in danger of going against the Word of God. To back off and do nothing would cause some people to be confused, to be dissatisfied, or even upset with the head of the community. So how?

I was thinking about this scenario for a while now. Let me pose to you this picture and see whether you agree with me. If someone invited to your house just walk into your living room with his shoes on, you, as the owner of the house would have politely asked him to remove his shoes. “Sir, in my house, everyone removes his shoes before entering my house.” And the guest turn round and boldly declares to you that God has told him to wear shoes to any Asians home in order to express the heart of God in breaking this Asian culture and tradition. So how?

Cacophony of Warring Voices

Without the conviction that there exist objective truths and without the conviction that there exists an authority governing the rules of interpretation of God’s Word, discussions on any given pertinent issue [be it morals, doctrine, culture or trends] in the church disintegrates into a cacophony of warring voices.  

Sadly the church has morphed into a body “dominated by the philosophy of empiricism, the doctrine that all knowledge is derived from the senses – what we see, hear, touch, and feel. Even moral statements were reduced to feelings. According to empiricism, we call things good when they give us pleasure. We call them bad when they cause pain. Thus was born the fact/value split – the idea that humans can have genuine knowledge only in the realm of empirical facts. Morality was reduced to subjective preferences. The term values mean literally whatever the individual happens to value. When moral convictions are reduced to arbitrary preferences, then they can no longer be debated rationally. Persuasion gives way to propaganda. Finally, nothing left but sheer force.” [Nancy Pearcy, Saving Leonardo, p. 2].

This is what I have faced with not too long ago.

Just saying.

SOME THOUGHTS FROM IMMANUEL KANT

"Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind."

I find it strange that many people just want to live their life without the hassle to think too much – so they say. I find it hard to believe that people want to remain shallow in their thinking. But like what Kant said, “thoughts without content is empty.” Thoughts that are flippant, frivolous, superficial and facetious without content, without substance to it are really empty, shallow, and makes one look idiotic, senseless, and ignorant! I am not talking about “content” in terms of showing off some philosophical lingo or doing some intellectual hula-hoop with words to impress, but “content” as in the ability to present our thoughts with a certain depth to it, thoughts that has substance, has quality to it that the respondents can identify, understand, and appreciate.

In the Christian circle, we are so attuned to the senses (feelings) and the experiential that we give thoughts not even a second thought at all. We brush it aside to assure ourselves that our thinking would only be on a need to know basis - only utilitarian. There are others who would rather live on instinct or gut feelings! In a more spiritual term – to be led by the Spirit! Yet some others just want to get on with their job, their family, and making enough money to buy a house, a car, and going on regular holidays. There are very few in between who would spend significant time to think, to exercise their thought life. Their thinking is not about their next meal or how to earn more money and so forth but quality thinking about eternal issues, life issues, and so forth – with the ultimate purpose of knowing all about life, love, and beauty through the providence of the creation of God. They have the innate drive to want to know more about the world that God has placed them in. The healthy development of our mind is very important. An unexamined life is not worth living. We can’t just think without content because it would be a waste of oxygen!

Likewise, intuitions without concepts are blind. Intuition is not a blind leap of faith. The other words used for intuitions are perceptions, instinct, insight, awareness, and sensitivity. Every perception, every insight or awareness of what is around us has a kennel of idea or impression lock in it. We need to unlock the impression, the thought or idea so that our intuitions would not be aimless or blind. We need to conceptualize our perceptions, insight or awareness. Paint a picture of what we see in our mind’s eye. Translate it into simple ideas or thoughts that anyone who desires to know can understand it, who desire to feel with experience it, and who desire the transcendence will find its immanence! Let our thoughts and our insights be like a vast canvas where we can paint on it the substance of what we hope for and the concepts of eternity and the divine.

On that note, we will not be empty-headed and blind! I don’t know whether I am making any sense at all.

Just saying…..