Catalyst Track: Break Open the Sky // Day Three

This track comes from the book, Break Open the Sky; Saving Our Faith from a Culture Fear, by former World Relief President & CEO, Stephan Bauman.

Have you encountered someone who exhibited extraordinary grace during a season of intense or chronic suffering?

Encountering grace in the lives of those who suffer has changed me too — often profoundly. These experiences are wells from which I drink.

We, too, can be wells of life when we experience the crucible of suffering. Instead of resisting, blaming, or fighting—all of which are normal responses in everyday life—we can purposefully accept the experience of suffering, embracing the wisdom we can gain from it without justifying its cause or trying to neatly explain the reasons for it. When we accept suffering, trusting that we will emerge from its crucible with more grace, more humility, and more love, we live out a theology of suffering that is rare, especially in the West.

The idea that we can kiss the crucible, that we can make suffering an intimate friend, is a notion as old as our faith, but it is reserved for those willing to view suffering as an unlikely teacher, yet one dripping with wisdom.

But let’s be honest. When we suffer, poetry doesn’t help much. How do we learn to kiss the crucible?

In this 3-day track, Stephan confronts a question that all of us ask at some point  – what are we supposed to believe in the midst in the suffering?

As a leader of a congregation, or of employees in an organization, you are likely faced with suffering on a regular basis - not to mention your own. And knowing how to respond is a challenge. Over the next few days, take time to think about Stephan’s thoughts in the context of not only your own life, but the lives of those you lead.

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Day 3 – Be Honest

Finally, be honest about your journey. We too often talk only about success in our faith communities. We avoid honest conversations about our challenges. We hide our suffering. Perhaps we feel ashamed or without favor. Or maybe we don’t know how to be vulnerable.

Worse, perhaps our community doesn’t allow vulnerability. In an interview with Eugene Peterson, Bono praised the raw, brutal honesty, sorrow, or confusion displayed in the psalms. The singer said that he finds a lot of dishonesty in Christian art and exhorted artists to

write a song about their bad marriage. Write a song about how

they are pissed off . . . because that’s what God wants from

you — the truth . . . and that truthfulness will set you free. . . .

Why I am suspicious of Christians is because of this lack of

realism. And I’d love to see more of that — in art and in life and

in music.

For all the mystery surrounding suffering — its causes, asymmetry, and purpose—there are moments when we glimpse the heart of God. Grace and suffering are inextricably linked to form a bedrock of

truth: that God’s grace is available to the least likely people and in the least likely ways.

This truth comes furiously knocking, in surprising ways, calling you and me to rise above our fear.

 

CHALLENGE:

Find an opportunity this week to either 1) be open with someone about suffering you have or are currently experiencing or 2) reach out to someone in the midst of their suffering.

Share which action you will take this week in the comments below.