Over the past week I have seen once again that, as Elllis Peters' fictional monk-turned-detective, Brother Cadfael, put it, "The truth is never a wrong answer." Watching and listening to my church staff discuss, at times a bit heatedly, some issues among themselves. Working with staff members as they talk with parents about something that went on in their ministry. Talking to an elder about his role on the elder board. In each of these situations the truth was difficult to speak and, in some cases, difficult to hear. But in each case, the truth was the right answer. Only by speaking the truth could we deal with "what is" rather than what we "wish was" or hoped "would be." When you think about it, in addition to being a reflection of God's character, telling the truth also makes more sense for living disillusioned lives. In his book, Exit Interviews, William Hendricks writes, "… consider the nature of disillusionment. Before you can be dis-illusioned, you must have an illusion. By definition, an illusion is an image, a mirage, a fiction. It is something that seems real but is not… God never wants us to relate to Him on the basis of a lie… Thank God for disillusionment!"
Thursday, June 07, 2007
The Disillusioning Truth
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2 comments:
I've talked to a few people about this subject and there seems to be a fairly common experience of God leveling the field occasionally in our lives. Where you'll be cruising along, not involved in some gross sin, but pinning your hopes on things that aren't in God's will for you. They could even be good things, a career, relationships, and God one way or another does not allow them to continue. Emotionally, you feel like a blank page, you're kind of scared of God because He didn't act like you had always assumed He would, or even like He always had, and you realize that there is nothing you can do about it- He is God. Then it gets stickier because you know there is nowhere else to go, He has the words of life, there is no plan B.
I can't begin to describe the freedom and peace of mind that comes when you can honestly say "Yes Lord, no matter what I trust serve you."
I believe disillusionment is a step in that process.
Well said, Cid. In the past 12 months this has been a recurring experience for both my wife and myself. Our "5 year plan" has become a "daily plan". We're definitely at the "no matter what" season, but it is very tiring at times. Just as we are settling into our life in OC, we are scheduled for another big change as we downsize once again and move in with Sharon's mom. The fruit God will produce from this will be good, I'm sure, but that doesn't make it easy.
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