So maybe it is not the intention of God to rid the world of all things that are less than desirable, hard to accept, and ugly. Maybe, at times, He wants them to remain. For what reasons I would not dare to attempt to understand, but I believe that it has something to do with what makes this temporal existence meaningful, even when seemingly unbearable. The human experience in all its pain, hurt, injustice, greed, and even death are where God intersects with us. The complete human experience, not just those things that we enjoy, is the environment of grace and mercy. The unbeautiful in this world should force us to see that because it is a part of the human experience that there is beauty even in the unbeautiful, even those places that reside within us. The point being that we don’t have to make the unbeautiful beautiful, we just have to see where the beauty is within it.
Scripture demonstrates this in John 9:
1As he (Jesus) went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Jesus went on to cure this man. It might be argued that the reason the man was born blind was because God used him as a plant for a miracle of Jesus. That he was destined to walk the earth blind for his whole life so that God could do a pretty cool miracle. I don’t think this is what was going on. He was blind because he was blind. Nothing more, nothing less. I have a son with special needs who for the first couple of years faced numerous obstacles. Why was he born with these challenges? The answer is simple, because he was born that way. Now if you want to ask why God allowed him to be born with these challenges the answer is very different. But the “why” he was born with challenges is easy. To analyze anymore than that has some value medically and at certain instances it might provide valuable insight how to treat him, but ultimately to find a reason he has challenges defines him by his challenges and that is something I just won’t do. But why God allowed it is just as simple, “this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
John 9 shows us that the unbeautiful has a very clear purpose: that the work of God might be displayed in it. How the work of God is displayed in the ugly is not explained here. The problem with answering this question makes broad assumptions that are often as unfair as the dismissal of the unbeautiful. For example, I know that the answer to how God is revealed in people’s lives isn’t so that God can bring physical, emotional, or even spiritual healing because not only are there plenty of people who never experience those things but it would then again make that ugliness something bad needing “fixing”. However, 1 Corinthians 12: 22-24 gives us some insight as to how God displays His work in the unbeautiful in the role of the Body of Christ.
22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it.”
As I read a number of commentaries on this passage I was shocked by the overwhelming disdain toward those “parts” that lack honor. For some this passage related to how other Christians (more honorable) were suppose to take care of each other (those less honorable). Some argue that these verses, because in context it speaks of the ministry of the Church, means that everyone can do ministry and has value within the work of the Church, but that would imply that this passage speaks of the honor levels as if those who are beautiful are doing the honorable work, but that God just as much appreciates the cute little tasks that the un-honorable do as well. I don’t deny that as a Body we are called to take care of one another or that each person within the Body has a valuable role, but to put those truths in the context of this passage is insulting to those elements of the human experience that are less desirable, broken, or ugly. It is also insulting to those who lack the honorable and beautiful positions within the Body. This passage says nothing of how the less honored are lifted up, used more effectively, or given greater blessings. Simply that God “has given greater honor to the parts lacking it.” God demonstrates His ability to see the ugliness within the ugly without attempting to fix it or redefine it, but by simply accepting it. He demonstrates His ability to see ugliness not as a symptom of the broken world, but as something that is incredibly underrated. God looks at everything that makes this life what this life is and declares, even when it is beyond our understanding, it is good.
As I am attempting to break out of the rigid doctrine of the institutional church into a better ministry of Christ one of the most important tasks that I must take on is ridding myself of assumptions that have been created by me regarding what is and is not beautiful in the eyes of God. Honor will not come with success. Beauty will not come with honor. And value will not come with beauty. When I begin to see that God has allowed all things, not just the impressive, for the purpose of glorifying Him then I can come to see everything within the human experience as having value. But more importantly, when I stop defining value by beauty then I can approach people more authentically, engaging them in truth and life. I can approach people without an agenda or without the need to shape them into something that I find valuable. I can them allow God to work through me as a conduit for His grace and mercy to reveal His purpose. And finally I will be able to participate in true intimacy and community.
No comments:
Post a Comment