Are We Ministering from the Best Question?
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009I had a dream last night. It was a dream that raised the very important question of what questions we ask God that guide us in mission and ministry.
In the dream, a group of young people were sent out into the community for a day. They come back to report.
One young woman comes all sad, and frustrated. She tells of all the tales of woe she witnessed and heard throughout the day.
“God, what is up with all this disease and bad in the world? It is just too much. How can you stand it?”
Another young woman followed and shared how she all those things, too. yet, she also saw people holding on to hope and still getting up to face another day. She saw babies being born and children playing and being taught. She also saw people laughing and loving.
“God, if we are all dying, this life-threatening stuff makes sense, why don’t you just throw in the towel?” So, what is up with all this life I saw?”
And there ends the dream. I woke up enough to jot down that dialog, but I’ve been mulling this snippet over ever since.
We cannot deny the presence of evil and all that threatens life in our world. Utter despair is what makes sense when we consider the evidence of the world around us and our own mortality. And we could approach the world lost in that despair. I am humbled by how often I find myself seeing and therefore believing only the worst.
Yet, God, what is up with all this life you infect our lives with? You keep bringing us moments of renewed energy and clarity. You turn winter into spring and summer. You come to the darkest shadows and where you show up there is light. People die in our lives. New relationships are born and reborn more often. And even as the time leads us toward mortality, you keep on living in and around us.
As I witness the tears of sorrow, God, help me see your light. As I wrestle along with someone who is seeking freedom, God, show how the chains are being taken away. As I think all this is just too much, surprise me.
