What’s Going On?
Wow, it has been a while since I have done this. I had a massive case of writers block,
summer laziness, and GRE study stress to even think about writing 500 or so
words. Ok, here we go.
So I have been reading a lot of Henri Nouwen lately and a
lot has been put on my heart while reading his work. One of the biggest things I read in his book, Here and Now,
was about conversion.
This quote really stuck out to me and I think it was a good
word in 1994 when this book was written and even still now in 2016.
Nouwen writes, “Once we start reading the events of our
times as calls to conversion, our perception of history changes radically.”
Wow.
How perfect is this right now for Christians in 2016 United
States. There is so much going on
in our country right now that could drive us to insanity (and has driven many
to insanity) if we took a few seconds to think about it. Presidential races, ISIS, Target
bathrooms…everything!
There is a lot going on.
But think about that Nouwen quote again, “calls to
conversion.” He does not say “calls to long facebook statuses.” He does not say
“calls to biased news stations on both sides of the issues.” He does not say “calls to boycotts of
or standing in solidarity with company opinions.”
He says a call to conversion.
How easy is it in a cultural climate like this that we can
get caught in the mindset that God isn’t involved in what is going on? We kind of forget that God knows
exactly what is going on right now in the World and understands it a whole lot
better than we do. The omnipresent
omnipotent Lord of the Universe knows that the United States is in an
interesting spot right now. He
also knows that the world is a whole lot bigger than just the United States
(but that is a novel and a half, not a blog post).
Maybe that is because he wants us to interpret why this is
going on.
No place is ever Godless because God is everywhere. I forget that. We need to constantly be conscious of
that.
God is at Trump/Clinton/Sanders rallies
God is in the Middle East
God is in the bathroom at Target
One of my favorite quotes is Abraham Kuyper's where he
states, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence
over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”
So why aren’t the people of God trying to reach every square
inch? I know I'm not trying. I am the guiltiest at this. Why do we shy away from
these difficult places where God calls us to spiritual change. God knows what’s going on and he wants
us to better understand him by having a better understanding of the World. We can’t live a life for God if we are
not willing to live a life with God.
So very few of us will actually be called to these physical
places. I doubt that I will ever
have a conversation with the CEO of Target, or an ISIS member, or one of the
presidential candidates, but I will always have conversations about them.
Am I honoring God in those conversations? Am I understanding
God in those conversations? Am I growing closer to God in those conversations?
Or, am I honoring the left or the right? Am I better
understanding the left or the right? Am I growing closer to the left or the
right?
God is not a God of the left or the right, God is a God of
EVERYTHING!
God knows what is happening in the world and the United
States right now. None of this is
a surprise to him. He understands
why this is happening, and he wants us to too. The way we better understand the world is we try to have a
better understanding of God.
We are called
to live a life of constantly finding new conversions in our life. So instead of seeking anger, seek the
Lord. Instead of looking for a new department store, look for God. God works in mysterious ways and works
in even more mysterious places, seek those ways and find those places.
