The second of the “points of leverage” that enable us to be all we can be as stewards of our gifts.
BOOK: Lifelines (Merriam and Clark) – life is fundamentally about two things – our work and our relationships and maturity is found in the inter-relationship between work and love and the key to this capacity is the ability to learn. (e.g. work place relationships….)
How do our work and relationships shape one another? (chat about this…or think about before next class?)
When you think about the most important things you have learned about God, how did you learn them? Have the way(s) you have learned about God changed over the years? What might be the invitation there? What might be the risk? Chat about this or think about it for next class
This chapter is largely about suffering. It intersects with vocation, but my sense was the Smith really was drawing on a larger context of suffering and reflected secondarily on how this relates to vocation and work. The reality is that the brokenness of the world intersects our lives in many ways, including in our “work worlds”.
2 Corinthians 1:5 – “For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.”
- I Peter 4:13 – “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
- Romans 8:17 – “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 – Jars of clay…carry around both brokenness and HOPE
- Romans 3-5 – we rejoice in suffering…produces perseverance and character.
We shouldn’t be surprised by suffering, and yet we do need to try to make some sense of it…when that is possible. We are formed through suffering and we are partners WITH Christ through this.
The real test of emotional and spiritual maturity, in vocation as well as everywhere else, is how we respond to suffering. Whether we become self-absorbed, turn inward/melancholy, or turn to Christ.
Robert Orben – “sometimes I feel like the whole world is against me, but deep down I know that isn’t true. Some of the smaller countries are neutral.” – victimization
LINCOLN movie
What do we do?
- Forgiveness – pray for those who persecute you….we will be wronged, taken advantage of, misunderstood. Don’t let resentment thrive. Forgive yourself
- Accept our limitations and losses – we cannot do and be everything. That is not how we are designed (thankfully). Transitions in life involve letting go and embracing this.
Parker Palmer – “Each of us is given a nature by God. To have a nature is to have both limits and potentials. We can learn as much about our God-given nature by running into our limits as by experiencing our potentials. The truth is that I cannot be anything I want to be or do anything I want to do. The truth is that my created nature, my God-given nature, makes me like an organism in an ecosystem: I thrive in some roles and relationships within that system, but in others I wither and die.”
3. Find safe places to be vulnerable (FMM – SHAME) – accepting suffering does not mean NOT FEELING, not processing. “Hardiness” is NOT a spiritual gift, nor is lack of appropriate anger. We need only look at Paul’s life and writings (as well as the Psalms) to know that God is OK with our hearts laid wide before him….Mourn loss honestly
Bob Pierce (Samaritan’s Purse) – “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God” – a good sign that we are open to deeply feeling suffering, our own or in the larger world, is if we are able to have deep compassion for others too.
4. Realize that some form of difficulty or pain is actually inherent in what we are called to do. Sometimes that is obvious; sometimes its not so…through this we can encounter God and our own need for HIM to fill our cup. 2 Corinthians 4:12 – Where we feel “death” at work in us, we are life to others”
5. Practice gratitude (Ann Voscamp – author of 1000 gifts – keep a gratitude journal)
There is no other way to emotional and spiritual maturity than to be open to God and one another….in this season of advent which despite all its beauty can accentuate the brokenness around us (in our own lives, families, work places) may we notice.
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