C’est la Vie

If you’ve spent time in religious circles, you’ve probably heard some pretty crazy things. Kind of like speaking Christianese, we don’t always understand it, where it came from, but we accept it. Some of these things even come straight out of the Bible, but they’ve had fallen, well-meaning people twist what the Holy Spirit has said by taking them out of context. Scripture does not contradict scripture. We attended a church for a few months that was particularly cringeworthy. The pastor, from the pulpit, made the outrageous claim that there were thousands of sins in the New Testament that even grace doesn’t cover. Well, thanks for nothing, Jesus?

I’ve heard that God won’t (or can’t) hear our prayers if we have any unconfessed sin, but I wonder how any of us can possibly be saved if God won’t or can’t hear us when we pray The Sinner’s Prayer? I’ve heard that God killed my babies when I had miscarriages, even though Jesus came to give us life, not death. I’ve heard that sometimes God will strike us with a sickness or disease to teach us or to get our attention – or maybe He just wants to spend time with us. I’ve heard that we’re saved by grace, but now we have to maintain our salvation. God loves us, but when we sin, He gets angry with us. And when we partake in communion, we need to remember our sins, examine ourselves to make sure there aren’t any we’re forgetting, and we dare not take any of the elements unless we’re sure or we’ll be heaping judgment on our heads. Did I leave any out? I’m sure I did and would love to hear them (email me – ohblessitgrace@gmail.com – or leave a comment).

One of my favorites is God gives and takes away. It’s in the Bible! That’s why so many Christians – and even non-Christians – buy it. Many churches even sing those lyrics in a very popular song (I actually really like the song, but I sing a few different lyrics)! This is also why so many people accept that God gives us health in one instance, but also sicknesses, diseases, disabilities, and injuries in another. It’s why women, like me, have lost babies. It’s a catchall for everything bad that happens that we want to have an explanation for. But then we feel extra spiritual when we tie it nicely up with a bow by saying blessed be the name of the Lord.

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21 NASB

We read a very holy-sounding statement at the beginning of Job, and it has become the foundation for excusing away the inadequacies of our faith. Like we shrug things off with a C’est la vie! or That’s life! It really is never our fault, is it? Since the fall of mankind, we’ve passed the buck. We didn’t mess up, Adam and Eve did. Adam told God that it was the fault of the woman that God had given him. Eve told God that it was the fault of the snake who deceived her. And we get to blame God because it’s in scripture that God gives, and He takes away. But what else does scripture tell us about God?

“The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.” John 10:10 NASB

I want to draw your attention to 2 words in that verse: life and abundantly. The word life is translated from the Greek word, zóé (Strong’s Greek #2222). It means exactly what you probably think it means. It references both physical and spiritual life, not just one and not the other. Both. Physical life is the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change before our physical death. And as co-heirs with Christ, we have all of that spiritually without a spiritual death.

The word abundantly is translated from the Greek word perissou (Strong’s Greek #4053) and means superabundant (in quantity), superior (in quality), beyond measure, exceedingly… and so much more (pun intended)! Now imagine your physical and spiritual life in a perissou way. You don’t just have the ability to draw breath, but you’re full of vigor, you’re healthy, you have a vitality that the world can’t understand. You’re satisfied with both the long length of your life and the good things that were superior in quality in it.

There are many skeptics out there who claim to not be interested in reading the Bible because it contradicts itself. They probably believe that because they haven’t actually read the Bible and understood the context. The God we read about in the Old Testament is the same God we read about in the New Testament. But we want to fit God into a little box (or a big box) of our own making, but we aren’t able to comprehend. We can’t seem to justify a good God allowing evil to exist in the world where His children live. We can’t, in our infinite wisdom, understand God who is the author of all things – including wisdom!

Who is God? John 10:10 says Jesus came to bring abundant life, but that’s not what Job experienced for a time. He lost his wealth from fire and enemy attacks (about 11k livestock and many servants), his children were crushed by a building (7 sons and 3 daughters), and his health took a turn for the worst (painful sores on his entire body). Did God give Job all that wealth and future lineage and then take it from him? That’s what many Christians would have you believe because they can’t seem to explain why they aren’t experiencing what Jesus promised for this life.

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; otherwise believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.” John 14:10-12 NASB

What works was Jesus talking about? Well, what did Jesus do during His earthly ministry? He went about healing the sick, not dealing out sickness. He caused the lame to walk, and He never caused someone to be lame. He brought healing and deliverance, not death and bondage. He went about teaching and healing every kind of sickness, disease and oppression of the devil because God was with Him (Matthew 4:23-25, Acts 10:38). He did the will of His Father. Then He gave us the marching orders to continue His work.

“And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in my name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:17-18 NASB

Did you happen to notice that Jesus was talking about anyone who believes in Him and not just those who were present? So why doesn’t the church have the healthiest people around? Why are we praying for people to be healed but only if it’s God’s will? We are to be laying hands on the sick and Jesus said that they will recover! We’re told that we’re to be doing greater works than what Jesus did, and He raised people from the dead! So how do we get from here, a place of believing that we’re powerless and that it all depends on if God is willing, to seeing mountains moved because of our faith in Jesus’ victory over the enemy?

Saturate yourself with God’s Word. Learn more about God than the latest scandal in Hollywood or our elected officials in government. Fill your mind with thoughts of gratitude and worship instead of internal pity parties and worries and woes. Allow God to be in every area of your life and in every day of your life – not just Sunday and church attendance. Seek God and you’ll find Him and have everything you’ve been needing (Matthew 6:33).

It’s time to read the book of Job in the right context. We’d see that God did not take Job’s wealth, children, or health. The thief came and did what we’re told the thief does: he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But the thief is not God. He came so that we could have an abundant life lived to the full. Stop accepting defeat as the norm. We’re to be walking in victory. Now that is life! C’est la vie!