- How Struggles Illuminate the Divine in Our Lives
We sometimes forget what is really important in life. The worries of this world have a habit of distracting us. No doubt, things like earning a living to pay the bills, being happily in love, having children, and being entertained are important parts of who we are. However, a culture of rampant individualism has skewed our alignment to what is truly important. Mixed into this are desires like greed, power, wealth, lust, and envy, which contribute to why we forget what is really important. Even good things like family can be forgotten under the weight of greed. Even good things like a healthy, loving relationship are affected by large amounts of time spent on the smartphone.
How are we to wake up? Are we asleep to what really is important?
We need to reflect and ponder beyond what we do, what we think, and what we feel.
We are designed to reflect the mystery of the divine. Not just me. Not just you. All of life reflects the mystery of the divine. The good, the ugly, what we run away from, and what we enjoy are awakening moments to something more. All of life can reflect the divine mystery of something more. But, we try to control things. We try to dominate instead of trying to be carers and stewards of creation. We are blinded by our own self-centeredness. We need something to wake us up.
It is through struggle. It is through the problems in our lives. It is through moments of darkness that enable the divine to more fully shine. We need learn to see in the dark.
Faith is an important part of this approach. You might ask, 'Faith in what?' The answer is faith in God and in Jesus. But it's also about how they affirmed life. Faith is fundamentally about trust—trusting that ultimately, everything will be all right. Faith isn't just about knowledge. As the 11th-century theologian Anselm discussed, it is about 'faith seeking understanding,' in that specific order. Notice that understanding comes last, akin to seeing in the dark. At night, when you turn off all the lights, it's hard to see. But given time, our eyes adjust. We begin to build faith when we start to trust the environment around us. We develop faith when we are willing to step into challenging spaces, choose the harder path over the easier one, and accept that we don't have all the answers.
Do we realize we are blind? Spiritual blindness allows us to be more fully open to listening to the presence of God hidden in our lives. Once we realize that we are blind, we begin to ask questions. We begin to see new connections beyond what we think and feel, to a deeper reality living with the poor, the outcast, and the earth. But the poor does not begin out there. Rather, the poor begins in here. We are poor. We have missed something. Here we awaken to the mystery that all things are connected. Some might call this God or the Body of Christ. God is not just to be thought about, but fully realized in how we live our lives. This awakening calls us to care for the other. Not just in a soft, lovely approach where everything is perfect, but in the messiness of life. In the struggle. We need tough love, love that is difficult, love in action to help us navigate life. In tough love, we are more willing to put aside our misconceptions and challenge our status quo. This seeks a deeper sense of justice instead of going along with the crowd. We can no longer just “fit in” because our vision has changed. This seeks equity and not just equality. This seeks moments where our desires begin to align with God’s desires. We become instruments of God’s mercy when we awaken to God active in our own lives.
(Audio Available)
