Jun 23, 2020
By Katrina Goodrich
Tragic circumstances tend to make me introspective. This year there’s been plenty of tragedy to go around the entire world affecting its over 7 billion inhabitants. Life, this year, is turning out quite differently than expected—but maybe the interruption to our regularly scheduled lives can teach us something if we listen.
Right now the world is in a period of mass trial and tribulation—and it looks ugly. This isn’t a particularly heartening time to be paying attention to the news. However, if I’m being honest, the world being ugly isn’t really a new concept. Sure the ugly is awfully highlighted right now but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there before lurking under the creature comforts and entitlement provided by first-world living. After the first six months of this year, I find it extremely difficult to ignore mortality and fear of illness and death, selfishness of humans, racism and division. It isn’t that I didn’t know these issues were there but it was easier to ignore. To some degree, I’ve been living in the land of confirmation bias and denial, but mild indifference has become extremely difficult of late.
The title of Romans chapter 5 is peace and hope. In this particular passage, Paul speaks of our reconciliation to God the Father through the sacrifice of Jesus; how we can boast in the hope of the Glory of God and not only that but glory in our sufferings. Glory in our sufferings is a concept that is echoed in James chapter one; he says to consider it pure joy when we face trials. Both passages go on to speak of hardship producing perseverance. Then they diverge on the same path and James speaks of asking for wisdom and Paul describes how suffering leads to hope. James and Paul have some words to speak to followers of Christ in these times.
Many times I’ve heard/read these passages and felt humbled because, at the time of suffering, I have definitely not found much hope in the situation nor even soon afterward. Suffering doesn’t feel good and I don’t think either author is saying it should. But I think we sometimes read these passages and think it means we should have a grin and bear it, just lie back and think of how all this is going to the glory of God attitude— that’s not pure joy. So how? How did Job get up and in his mourning and suffering praise God in moments when his grief had to be monumental? How can you not be heartbroken given everything that’s happening in the world right now?
Perhaps I’m beginning to understand a little. Right now I feel heartbroken and so much grief but there is also a sense of hope, bittersweet hope. I can’t ignore the problems, wounds we’ve been putting band-aids on for years trying to staunch hemorrhaging of politics, race, religion, and economic divisions—all are spilling over and there is very little chance that alone I can change anything. I have a desperate hope that change happens. Hope that this suffering is the audible “groaning of creation” described in Romans 8 and that adoption and redemption await—hope in knowing that redemption exists because of the sacrifice of Christ.
Jesus is the transformer of culture and the redeemer of humanity and He can do it—with or without our help. If we claim to be a Christian, a follower of Christ, how can we want to do anything but help the transformation? Right now we are on the precipice of transformation. The future could differ drastically because of this time of trial and tribulation—we could develop perseverance, character, hope, wisdom and humility because of Christ and help others find that same redemption.
Maybe this is the last wake-up call because I can’t hit the snooze button anymore.
