JulofDenial's Journal, 14 January 2013

Can you tell me more about what you mean by spiritual trust? 

Hi Lishalu, thanks for responding. I was referring to trusting in God's will and plan, blessing and protection over our loved ones who are traveling solo in life (meaning, without God). They sometimes / often make bad choices and it's hard to surrender to / trust God when you know that God's response is tough love for the stubborn. That means allowing them a degree of suffering that can be unbearable to watch (for the ones who love them). 

Why do so many Christians insist on believing there is some ' will' or a 'plan', that somehow things are predestined and laid out for us? Is it not enough to realize that the most pure definition of God is love, that the great spiritual teacher Jesus showed us ONE of the ways to tap into that love and lead a fulfilled life, and that the MIRACLE is that these teachings have lasted so long and influenced the lives of billions?  

Hi Rumble66, I think when Christians often talk about God's 'will' or 'plan', it is a sumtaneous confession in our belief that God is omnipotent (ultimately all-powerful), and also that we believe what the Bible says, that God has a plan for our lives and can work all things for good. It doesn't mean that there is a discernible reason for why things happen, or that all things that happen are good...only that ultimately God is still in his heavens and in charge of all that occurs. Our job as Christians, is to seek after what God would have us do. And, as you so aptly pointed out, Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God is our most perfect examply for that that looks like: loving God, and loving our neighbor. As Christians, and humans, we are often ill-equipped to express perfectly in words what we can hardly understand in life. Be patient with us. We're not trying to be trite or obnoxious; we're just trying to muddle our way through this thing called life.