I really don't get the whole "prosperity gospel" stuff. I don't understand the "name it and claim it" bunch. I wonder how on earth anyone would think that following Christ would somehow bring health and wealth in worldly things. I know people cling to it because it's a feel good kind of thing and it is human nature to want to avoid suffering and to want worldly things. But where they can reconcile this view as a Christian, I don't know. That stuff is better suited for New Age gurus.
Jesus is pretty clear that following Him means we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily and follow Him. (Luke 9:23.) So how anyone can interpret that as "name that BMW and claim it," is beyond me.
Honestly, I feel real sorry for people that buy into that. It isn't going to ever be the source of real joy and peace. As a Catholic we are told to embrace our suffering and unite it with Christ's suffering. We must embrace our cross. And embrace I do. My son is having some developmental delays and sensory processing issues and it has broken me.It has broken me to the point where I am willing and open to let God reshape me. At first, I begged God to make it all better and "fix" my boy. I pleaded with Him even though in the back of my mind I knew this was for my own good. Jesus said He could not fix this right now. I needed to look at the cross. If I wanted to experience real peace I had to surrender to the cross. If we allow God, He uses our suffering to purify us. It is through my suffering that I have been open and willing enough to let God do what He does best and that is to love. I have felt His love in the most tangible ways. Those that are following the prosperity gospel are misled to believe that God shows His love with worldly blessings. No, He gives us worldly blessings so that we'll see it's not enough and that what we really need is HIM. Only He can fill that hunger.
There can be a sweetness to suffering and it is only as a Catholic that I have seen that and experienced it. It is such an odd thing. There can be a strange kind of joy in carrying one's cross. It has brought me closer to Jesus. Another wall of my own making gets knocked down with each trial that I experience and let myself surrender completely to God. Letting God love me freely so I can love freely. It has only been through redemptive suffering that I've been able to grow closer to God. As a Catholic I've learned what that is. It's so much richer and fulfilling than I could have ever imagined.
Jesus is pretty clear that following Him means we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily and follow Him. (Luke 9:23.) So how anyone can interpret that as "name that BMW and claim it," is beyond me.
Honestly, I feel real sorry for people that buy into that. It isn't going to ever be the source of real joy and peace. As a Catholic we are told to embrace our suffering and unite it with Christ's suffering. We must embrace our cross. And embrace I do. My son is having some developmental delays and sensory processing issues and it has broken me.It has broken me to the point where I am willing and open to let God reshape me. At first, I begged God to make it all better and "fix" my boy. I pleaded with Him even though in the back of my mind I knew this was for my own good. Jesus said He could not fix this right now. I needed to look at the cross. If I wanted to experience real peace I had to surrender to the cross. If we allow God, He uses our suffering to purify us. It is through my suffering that I have been open and willing enough to let God do what He does best and that is to love. I have felt His love in the most tangible ways. Those that are following the prosperity gospel are misled to believe that God shows His love with worldly blessings. No, He gives us worldly blessings so that we'll see it's not enough and that what we really need is HIM. Only He can fill that hunger.
There can be a sweetness to suffering and it is only as a Catholic that I have seen that and experienced it. It is such an odd thing. There can be a strange kind of joy in carrying one's cross. It has brought me closer to Jesus. Another wall of my own making gets knocked down with each trial that I experience and let myself surrender completely to God. Letting God love me freely so I can love freely. It has only been through redemptive suffering that I've been able to grow closer to God. As a Catholic I've learned what that is. It's so much richer and fulfilling than I could have ever imagined.
4 comments:
Amen! That is beautifully said about it is "through suffering that we become open and willing enough to let God do what He does best and that is to love." I popped over from Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival.
Have a Blessed Sunday!
"He give us worldly blessings so that we'll see it's not enough and that what we really need is HIM. Only He can fill that hunger."
I love this thought. It's an angle I hadn't considered. The name and claim crowd makes those of us who haven't much look like bad Christians. And you hit the New Age on the head. New Age is based on some kind of false power we're supposed to have. I enjoy this post at lot and hope your son improves.
The whole "prosperity gospel" stuff makes me queasy.
i always love your perspective my fellow cross-carrying sister. what would i do without you?
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