The 8th point...
"Nothing angers a man so much as seeing his own sin in someone else..."
- Ravi Zacharias
In the last several months, I've had to endure something that has been horribly tough; I've sat by and watched as a friend's life crumbled around him. I've tried to encourage him, whenever we've talked (which has been fairly frequent). I've prayed for him, and I've done my best to give him biblical advice.
What has been the frustration is that in the light of biblical counsel, and in the light of fairly obvious scriptural teaching, he has gone off and done what seemed right in his own eyes. He's added mistake to mistake, and sin to sin, and the fruits of his labors are now coming down on his head...and there's not much I can do.
One of the most discouraging things in my adult life has been seeing people whom I love, people with whom I've served the Lord, turn their back on God when they needed him the most and reject the faith when the refiners fire burned the hottest. I remember when news of a spiritual mentor's suicide came to me shortly after I completed my first undergrad; right when God seemed to be burning away the chaff in his life, with one motion of a finger he made a lasting comment on his view of Christ's sufficiency and soveriegn provision in his life; that day was dark indeed.
Over the years, I've had so many conversations with people who used to be mentors, or spiritual brothers, or even pastors, who've thrown in the towel and given up either on God or on hope. I've talked to friends who've been burned out by pain/trials/suffering and embraced anything BUT God, whether that be in the form of abandoning a call to ministry, the simplicity of no longer fighting sin (like making justifications for sexual immorality), or an alternate 'faith' altogether (like Islam or theological liberalism).
As a theologian I study the scriptures and expect plenty of seed to fall on the rocky ground, get scorched by the sun or choked by weeds...but seeing grain get choked by weeds or scorched by the sun never gets any easier.
And the worst is when I see weeds rising and the sun getting higher in my own life. Something I'm learning the importance of remembering is this:
"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."
- 1 Corinthians 9:25-27
I don't want to run the race in vain...I must not run the race in vain.
Lord, grant me the strength to run the race and reach the finish. Until Next Time,
The Armchair Theologian