Someone please give me reason why I should or should not remain a Christian? Noah was a drunk and he went to heaven, David was all sorts of things and he went to heaven. I need not go on, in other words they were all sinners just like me. If God loves me so much why am I suffering so much? I am a good person, I love the Lord have served in ministry for 15 years and life is still so hard. Why?
God promises us He will take care of us, we will have life and have it more abundantly, but yet I have been given five years to live, what the heck is that? I have four young grandchildren and another on the way that I will never see graduate high school is the the thanks I get for being a faithful servant?
I am so sick of what I see Christians becoming, most are rude and vicious and it sickens me, Jesus was not this way. So someone give me reason to all this madness......
2007-10-12 07:38:02 · 45 answers · asked by Celtickarma 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Thank you for sharing, I hear the sadness and pain your feeling because you'd like to see some rhyme and reason evident in your life and your faith but it seems to be missing. That's so tough!
Unfortunately, Proverbs is wrong and Ecclesiastes is right - God does not always reward the good or the faithful and punish the bad or unfaithful. In fact, God is not dispensing boons and banes at all. When we suffer, He suffers and when we thrive, He thrives.
You are experiencing a great deal of pain and suffering, especially over facing your mortality earlier than you want to or expected to - I think we all relate to that. Hell, the 33-year old Jesus yelled out from the cross "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" If God Himself was baffled and desperate at the suffering he faced, why would He expect anything different from you?
My suggestion is to focus on acting like the person you most want to be. If you have five years left, what will you do with them? Who will you help? What will you experience? Whose lives will you impact? What mark will you leave so that we know you were here and the world is better because of it?
Confusion, doubting, despair - these are normal responses to great suffering. In the thick of it, all you have to go on is what you sense, what you know in your heart to be true. If you know that whatever is out there is Love and that you are comforted by that, forget whatever else there is. You don't need to be the first person in history to settle the theological problem of pain in order to give your life meaning and purpose. You are meaningful already, just be that person you know you are meant to be and the rest will take care of itself.
I'm happy you are here among us and I am taking this moment to register in my memory and in my heart that your story has affected me.
2007-10-12 07:52:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Many people have been given a time limit left to live by their doctors, and many have overcome the odds. Some say it's due to faith, and others say it's due to the power and love within a family.
If you truly feel you love God and still want to serve Him through worship, you should continue to do so. Your faith may overcome the odds.
But regardless of this sentence you feel hanging over your head, you should continue to live your life to its fullest. Spend as much time with your children and grandchildren as you can. Don't put yourself away in solitude.
I know that some Christians seem like shallow, hostile people. I put a lot of the blame for that on capitalism. We have forgotten the values of our previous generations and exchanged it for new cars, new homes, the latest gadgets advertised on TV with their personal guarantee of making our lives 100% better. We try to keep up with our neighbors in terms of what we have materially, even if we can't really afford it. We become jealous and angry that our lives aren't as good as our neighbors'.
Though I admit that these last views I mentioned are my own, through being an agnostic for the better part of 10 years.
When I was attending church services when I was in my teens though, I was informed that we should hate the sin but love the sinner. That we are all sinners. That God forgives our sins. Those are comforting thoughts, actually.
If you truly believe in God and Christianity, you should hold onto it. Don't let the born-agains fool you into thinking they are holier than you are, and that their example is the best.
2007-10-12 07:52:03 · answer #2 · answered by Lily Iris 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Who ever said being a chreistian was easy? No one did because that is exactly what it isn't. Being a christian isn't easy it never has been. The abundance of life thing is called life after death it doen't get anymore abundant that eternal. Yes many christians don't live the way they preach but that doesn't mean you have to be like that. If you don't like it do something about it or in words spoken by Gandi "be the change you want to see it the world." And about Noah being a drunk there is no proof what so ever. As for David yes he did make mistakes but he was human. Everyine makes mistakes it can't be avioded. He didn't run from his mistakes he admited his faults and was forgiven.
2007-10-12 07:54:12 · answer #3 · answered by pepgurli 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I am so sorry for your suffering. It is hard to answer why do bad things happen to good people..but this is not heaven.
We "serve" out of LOVE not hope of gifts. We are not of this world. Noah suffered, David, Job suffered yet still they loved God. Job said...Yeah though he slay me I will trust in the LORD.
No one will live forever! All we can do is enjoy the time that we have and not let bitterness ruin it. You have been given five years..Some will not draw another breath. Some think they will live 50, 60 more years..and will die tonight. We don't know how many days any of us have. I have known people that have been told they have months that lived 20 more years.
My prayers are with you and your family. Blessings to you all.
2007-10-12 07:51:44 · answer #4 · answered by PROBLEM 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I am sorry for you. Please don't turn away from God. I will pray for you.
And to pwwatson - I realize you live in a different place then we do with harsh conditions - however, eveybodies suffering is different and individual. Have a heart. She does not need the bashing right now. Did you tell the leper that there are others suffering far worse then him?
And Americans can be so selfish huh? I will have to remember that when there are missionaries taking up collections to help other countries like yours. And you know, I wish I could really mean that but I know I will give if asked. Pfft!
2007-10-12 09:29:57 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is God who determines how long we will live. You are accepting the fact that your disease is giving you 5 years.
Lady, a curse without a cause, does not come. Rebuke that disease that is in your body and remember what God said, "by His stripes we are healed." "No weapon formed against you will prosper."
Do you think God owes you something? You can't be good enough to earn eternal life. You need to get on your knees and ask God to have mercy upon you a sinner. You need to ask the Holy Spirit if there be sin in your life to take it out.
Jesus told us He was hated and we would be hated. He suffered and we would suffer. No where in that Bible can I find that I was promised a good life on this earth. My good life is promised in heaven. I find in many places where I was promised trials.
God did say in John 10:10 that He came so we might have life and that we might have life more abundantly. Think about if Jesus had not come. We were dead in our sins and going to hell eternal. On the cross we received eternal life for what He did just for believing in Him.
Remember what Peter went through and remember what Paul went through and you are expecting a wonderful life on this earth. Our hope is Christ Jesus and this is the wonderful part to life. He gave us His peace that surpasses all understanding and it alone is worth more than diamonds or rubies.
You are giving up and Christ said we are to be OVERCOMERS. The Lord overcame this world and so can you and I. Every day you tell that disease in you that it has no right to be there and tell it to leave. Quote Scripture to it, "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord." Psalm 118:17
Rebuke that spirit of death and tell it to leave in Jesus' name.
Read about the churches in Revelation and their tribulations.
You will overcome so trust the Lord.
2007-10-12 08:12:04 · answer #6 · answered by Jeancommunicates 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Just know you are not alone and you like many of us have to walk by faith and not by sight. knowing that faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.Let God be God and man be sinful man, just remember the paridox of christainity. The way up is down in pray(humility ), the way to became grat is to became the least( deny self) , the way to become rich is to be a giver (charity) and the Way to God is Jesus. Follow him even if you had 1 yr to live continue to hold on because God's hand is unchanging. Give him you because to die is to live with him and remember to do his commandments for this id true love toward God and man.
2007-10-12 08:33:00 · answer #7 · answered by princecurtis7 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christy, I am very sorry for your recent diagnosis and hope that you understand that God did not do this to you. Bad things happen to good people because of the sin in this world. Even an illness can be caused by your sins or the sins of another (how many people have died from AIDS because one man experimented with beastiality?or from the effects of gluttony?). We are not promised one day in this life, we can go at any time. What is worse, knowing that it is coming and getting to say your goodbyes, or being here one second and then gone the next? Our hope is not in this life, it is in the next. Your grandchildren will be watching you as you go through the next five years. What legacy will you leave them? Will it be one of misery and despair? "Their is no God, or I wouldn't be sick. There is nothing after death, I will never see you again." Or will it be one of faith and hope? "I know that it isn't fair that I have to leave you so early, but this isn't the end. God is calling me home to Him. If you accept the free gift that Christ has so freely given, then I will see you again and we will spend eternity together never again feeling the fear of separation that we feel now." You have a difficult path to follow, but it is not yours alone. My uncle recently passed at the age of 48, he knew he had one year left and he spent it loving his kids and grandkids to the fullest of his ability. I will pray for your healing, but more importantly I will pray for the peace of your spirit. May God bless and keep you through this difficult time. Isaiah 57:1
2007-10-12 07:59:27 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, life is very hard for some of us. The different characters in the bible just prove that we all are imperfect beings. God does love us but in the bible it says that Satan is in control of the earth. So all the bad things that happen are a result of Satan's doing. He knows that these bad things will weaken your spirit and faith in God. Yes some "so called" Christians are rude and vicious but not "true" Christians. All in all I think a prayer would have better answers than Yahoo.
2007-10-12 07:53:53 · answer #9 · answered by Artscola 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I'm sorry you have had bad news. Obviously, this is a very difficult time for you. I pray, however, you will not waste your remaining time in anger. You say, 'Give me a reason to stay a Christian." I say, 'If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior 'truly'.... then how can you possibly not want to be a Christian! What love our Lord has shown for you! What a promise to take care of you eternally! I would spend my time with my little ones and teach them how wonderful Jesus is and how important it is for them to know him personally like you do. Then, you all will be together forever.
Now, dear one, I won't pretend to suggest that it isn't difficult to be told you have only a few years to live. But Man is not he author of life - God is. All good doctors will admit that no test tells you how much time any of us have left. While you don't want to leave the ones you love, you know that death is a part of life. All of us have a lifespan. I'm sure you're a good person, but your service to God all these years were not for 'bargaining' with God, hopefully, your service was because you love him so much and your grateful for what He did on the Cross. Were your 'works' spiritual works or were they for a 'guarantee' that your life would be good and stress free? If you're a Bible student, you know better than that.
Life is hard. And we live in a society that is difficult. But Jesus said, "I am with you always....even to the end." Life is about choices. You've had to make choices all your life. Some of those choices brought you joy and some got you in some difficult situations. When you called upon the Father, He came to you and saw you through it. He will do the same for you now. Now is the time to 'draw near to God and He will draw near to you'. Now is the time to get in the Scriptures and re-acquaint yourself with His promises.....seek comfort. Tell your Pastor that you're having trouble facing death - there's no shame in that. Let him/her nurture you and help you get on solid ground again. Jesus will not leave you.
And, dear one, don't be so hard on those that are not 'walking the walk' as you think they should. Maybe, just maybe, they too are carrying a heavy burden and they're 'hitting out' just like you are. Maybe God feels far away from them right now....everybody has their own secrets, and everybody handles life their own way.
Love your babies.....love yourself.....glorify God, for He has taken care of business - even though we don't necessarily want to deal with that right now. But in the long run, dear one, you will again sing His praises.
..........He loves you so much.
........So much that He gave His only Son.
........That you might have life...eternal.
2007-10-12 08:15:14 · answer #10 · answered by Mercedes 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋