Good morning! It's Tuesday, and time for another Tuesday Toss-up. What's a Toss-up? Well, it has been a long time since the last one (an entire month!) so here are the basics:
- I toss-up a comment, quote, scripture, or article...
- You comment to your heart's content (nicely, of course)
So take a few minutes to digest the quote, and then share some of your first thoughts or impressions on this quote in my comment section -- good, or bad, for or against, what it means to you, how it moves you, what it makes you think of -- you know -- that kind of stuff! (no googling allowed!) And trust me when I say ... you will NOT be graded on theology! Here it goes:
"The purpose of Christianity is not to avoid difficulty, but to produce a character adequate to meet it when it comes. It does not make life easy; rather it tries to make us great enough for life."
James L. Christensen
Just a reminder ... (and I'm quoting Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer) ..."Respectful, dissenting viewpoints are always welcome, but please, let's keep it civil." (although, I don't think this quote is potentially explosive, arguable, volatile or insulting in any way!)
Have a blessed day in the Lord, and don't forget to check back to read what others are saying!
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Teaser: Coming this week to a blog near you...
"Menu and Grocery List Planning Made Quick & Easy!"
"What's Behind Closed Door #1? An Expose on True Living."
"It's Been A Long & Sad Struggle..."
"I Always Wanted To Be Homeless?! NOT!"
... and so much more! Stay Tuned!
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14 comments:
The testing of our faith is what makes us stronger. I agree completely with this quote. God never promised a life of ease. He promised that He would always be with us. Why is it then when bad things happen in life that we immediately start questioning God? God is still God no matter what our circumstances. He is still with us no matter what, but we have to have the faith to trust in Him. We have to believe that He is everything that He claims to be. That is the kind of faith that will stand the test of time. That is the kind of faith that will be able to endure the hottest fire.
That's the kind of faith I want!
This quote honestly just makes me realize I'm so not there yet.
My goal is to realize the 'yucky stuff' is not always a test...it is sometimes just yucky stuff amidst a world full of sin and an earthly prince who roams around just trying to destroy us...so my goal is to see God's grace and mercy in the midst of terror and not immediately think God is punishing me or testing me...and THAT IS the test for me!
I have tended, at times, to live for those "mountain top" experiences and just scurry through the valleys between with my eyes closed, running as fast as I can toward the next mountain. But you know what? The growing and the learning happens in the valley. THAT's what it's about. I think the mountain-tops give us a brief moment of respite and encouragement so we can get back to the important stuff.
This is a great quote! I could go on and on about it but I will try to refrain.
The Bible tells us in Romans 5:3-4 to rejoice in our sufferings because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. We are constantly being refined. Its like mining silver. They have to boil it and the impurities rise to the top. It's a mess but then they scrape it off and do the process again. Eventaully it has been refined to the point they can see their reflection in the silver. That's we way we are in Christ. We have a lot of impurities that we need to get rid of. Trials and difficulties bring those to the top, forcing us to work through them and remove them from our lives. It is a process that is repeated over and over until we reflect Christ's image. I've learned that the closer your walk with the Lord, the pickier He gets.
I rejoice in the fact that He is continually molding me into the person He has called me to be. I realize that everything I go through has a purpose and that a lot of times God is trying to teach me something that's going to help me in the future. Just like God prepared David for Goliath by helping David overcome the lion and the bear. Sometimes we have to overcome smaller battles in order to prepare us for the bigger ones ahead.
I really enjoyed that quote. I'll have to add it to my collection.
Honestly, my first thought is that the "purpose" of Christianity is to save our otherwise doomed souls. Difficulty happens for one reason: sin, introduced by original sin in the Garden, passed along to all mankind as our inheritance. Christ is the only remedy.
This quote also reminds me of a portion of C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. He talks about this life preparing us for eternal life. If, on earth, we overlook or allow little slips, little indiscretions...those add up infinitely when you consider life is eternal. So are we living our earthly lives with heavenly purpose? Are we handing our character over to God for His hands to shape it in preparation for living eternally with Him?
Okay, I deleted my last comment because I need to say more. It's just in my nature.
I agree with this quote.
The purpose of Christianity is that we become more like Christ. That means we need to develop stronger character. And we can't do that without our character being tested.
Okay, now I'm done.
I think.
The purpose of Christianity is eternal salvation for our immortal souls, through the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. Suffering, adversity, bad stuff that happens to us, exercises our faith, and makes us stronger. We have no promise of a life of ease; we are promised that God will not test us beyond our strength. The trials and tribulations of life on earth make me cling more closely to God, and enforce the realization that He is the only way I can get through the dark nights.
This quote reminds me of one of my favorites from my days in Bible college. Not sure where I heard it first, but it has been my goal to remember this as I struggle through life.
"Right feelings follow right actions."
Simple, huh? But really, when I hear the whining and complaining from some Christians about how difficult life is being for them, and especially when they want to blame God, I remember that ultimately our goal is to obey God in order to glorify HIM. And many times we find that good feelings (even if that doesn't mean "easy") usually follow.
I recently attended a fantastic conference (Youniquely Woman at Precept Ministries in Chattanooga) which was a truly life-changing experience. One quote, extremely relevant to your topic, stuck with me. Kay Arthur said something like...God is not focused on your happiness, but on your holiness. This was a really hard concept for me...get out of the 'There-shall-be-showers-of-blessings-and-those-shall-be-a-Toyota-4-Runner,-a-nice-house,-a-perfect-family...' mindset and into the 'God-wants-me-to-be-HOLY-no-matter-what' mindset.
If we are never tested how do we really know we have any faith? It's in the tough stuff that the Refiner's fire burns off the sludge to reveal the beauty inside.
I just love all your comments... See? That's why I love Tuesday Toss-up so much!!!
Check out http://grandmaofthree.blogspot.com/ for Wednesday's quote from Oswald Chambers.
I was going to comment then read all of these great responses. Kpjara said what I struggle with the most. You girls rock.
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