Summation of the Glorious Ruin

I hope you've benefited from the quotes I've posted over the past few weeks from Tullian Tchvidjian's new book Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free. You can search this blog for the tag/label "Glorious Ruin" to find all the quotes.

As of now I'd list this book as one of the top 5 I've read in the past few years. I suspect I'll be re-reading it many times in order to absorb everything he says. I do not mean that it is a hard read - it's not. I mean that the content is such that it must be digested over time and used to evaluate my personal life experiences. I suspect you would find the same.

Here is the key thought from my first read through of the book.

Most books about suffering focus on the "Why" question (why must I suffer?) and/or the "How" question (how can I grow from or benefit from my suffering?).  Tullian moves past both of those to the more important "Who" question. From Martin Luther's "Theology of the Cross" he points out that God is most revealed in suffering, because He is a God who saves us through His own vicarious suffering on the Cross of Christ. We prefer a "Theology of Glory" - where God always and only blesses and prospers us. The Cross, however, reveals that the place of pain is the place were God is most clearly revealed in Scripture and life experience and where He is most truly known. Although the author of the Book of Job tells us why Job suffered. Job was never given that answer. He was never told "Why." His "friends" spent all those chapters moralizing his suffering (If you were good you would not suffer) and minimizing it (Just get over it). Job's only answer, all that he was given,  was a revelation of Who - the one true eternal God whom he met in his suffering. That revelation made him a "glorious ruin." That answer was enough.

"I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
                 (Job 42:5-6 ESV)

The gospel enables us to escape from the prison of How and Why, and find freedom in the Who. The only answer is meeting God in Christ -and, to borrow the title to one of Tullian's other books, "Jesus + Nothing = Everything."

My brief thoughts do not do the book justice. Whether you agree with these comments or not, go read the book for yourself. I do not think that you will be disappointed.

Next on my reading and quoting list - The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears by Mark Batterson.

Satisfied by the Naked Longing

Tullian Tchvidjian (Glorious Ruin, pages 177-178) on understanding the Book of Job:

"Take the book of Job. Some commentators actually become exasperated with Job because it seems to go on and on, endlessly repeating the same arguments without providing any definitive answers. there's just chapter after chapter of Job and his friends covering the same territory over and over again. But the redundancy serves both a theological and a literary purpose. Yes, it does go on, and on, and on, with no definitive answers - which is exactly how most of us experience suffering in real life. that is, you are in good company. Job wasn't given a definitive answer either. God did not come to him at the end of the book and say, You made it Job! Now let me tell you the real reason why you suffered. All we find at the bottom of Job's suffering is a naked longing for God. Which, it turns out, is enough."

That is the best summation of the message of Job I have ever heard or read.

  

Why Does God Allow Evil?

Wisdom from Tim Keller:

God only allows Satan to accomplish the very opposite of what he wants to accomplish. He only gives Satan enough rope to hang himself…God hates evil. He’s against it. He didn’t create a world in which evil existed. But He permits it. Why? He permits Satan only to bring evil into Job’s life in such a way, in such an amount, that actually completely defeats Satan’s real intention. Satan is only allowed by God to actually defeat himself and achieve the very opposite of what he wanted.
…He permits evil and suffering to come into your life only to the degree that it defeats the actual intention of Satan for you. Only to the degree that it makes you a great person. Only to the degree that it actually defeats itself.

From Tim Keller Quotes

Spiritual Brains

"Theology should be the Holy Spirit working its way through your brain. "

     - Leonard Sweet @LenSweet

Job Lessons

The Book of Job is not exactly the most popular book in the Bible. However, the effort to read and grasp its message brings great dividends. Here's Steve Murrell on 7 lessons from the Book of Job
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1. Bad things happen to seemingly good and innocent people. Four times Job is described by God as "blameless and upright" yet he experienced horrible suffering.

2. The devil is real and he comes to "steal, kill and destroy." Chapter 1 makes it clear that all Job's pain and loss was an act of the devil, not an act of God.

3. People experiencing bad times need good friends. When you have friends who are suffering, try doing what Job's friends did in Job 2:13 "Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was."

4. Good friends often give bad counsel. Unfortunately, after that week of silence, Job's friends opened their mouths and stuck both feet in, nasty sandals and all.

5. Some things can't be explained and some "why" questions can't be answered. The book of Job never answers the "why" question. But it does paint a good picture of "how" - how to find God in our pain and how to respond to calamity in a way that honors God.

6. We can find God in our pain and loss, if we do what Job did when he realized the extent of his loss - "then he fell to the ground in worship..." (Job 1:20) Do we only worship God in the good times?

7. In the end, the blessing of God caught up with and overtook Job. Most people don't press through and read the whole book of Job. But if you endure til the end, you will find that "the Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the former." (Job 42:12) And if we endure past our pain, we will find God in the end.

Responding to the Disaster in Japan

The news from Japan over the past four days has been so overwhelming in its intensity and horror that it is difficult for me to know how to react and pray. I am sure that is true for many others. Adrian Warnock, a fellow blogger from Great Britain, has published a characteristically helpful post on 10 Ways a Christian should respond to the earthquake in Japan:

As Japan braces itself for a possible further serious earthquake, and deals with the consequences of such massive devastation caused by the last one, not to mention the risk of a major nuclear incident, how should Christians respond? Please understand that none of this is intended to claim that we have all the answers to such a disaster. In fact, like Job’s friends’ initial response, often the best thing we can do is say absolutely nothing, and share people’s pain. 

I write this article with many unanswered questions. But, unlike those who allow suffering to drive them away from God, I am convinced that only God makes sense of suffering. For if the Japanese who died really were just the random fruit of evolution, why should it matter to us if they died? But if each of them are made in the image of their creator, and lovingly crafted together in their mother’s womb, our inherent feeling that suffering is NOT welcome in this world makes perfect sense. God loves every human being, they are precious to him.

 Adrian goes on to list the following ten points.

1. We should not be surprised
2. We should be humbled before the awesome power of "Nature."
3. We should not assume the end is at hand
   
4. We should not assume the end is not at hand
5. We should not specifically blame the Japanese.
6. We should not blame God, but we should pray.
7. We should understand that suffering is in the world due to sin in a general sense.
8. We must not assume the devil "won" this time.
9. We should look forward to the day when there will be no more pain.
10. We should share the glorious gospel of Jesus that brings us hope and work to relieve suffering.

 Please go to the link to read his entire piece.  May God have mercy on the people of Japan, and may his mercy extend to us all.