Our family enjoys spending time in Maine. On our last trip, we visited the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, which sits on the coastline, above the Atlantic Ocean. The day we visited the wind was whipping and the sea was churning. The water was rough, and the waves were crashing into the rocks below us with some force.
From afar, where we were, the scene was beautiful and even picturesque. But even from a distance you could sense the force and intensity of the water colliding into the rocks below. I think that's a picture of how the Bible sometimes functions in our lives – beautiful in its overarching contours but something a bit more untamable when it breaks in upon us. I often say that scripture is meant to confront us, to shake us awake. Admittedly, I enjoy saying that more than experiencing it.
Since September, I've been leading one of the Midpoint groups, and we've been studying the book of Ecclesiastes. The book chronicles a teacher's journey to find meaning in this world (or, "under the sun"). While I don't think the final commentary of the book is one of outright cynicism, the book can seem pretty skeptical in places. I'm thankful for the honesty of scripture. Throughout its pages, people are given space to recognize that life is filled with questions, and sometimes there are no immediate answers. Ecclesiastes shows us that life is full of mystery, heartache, longings, discomfort, uneasiness, dissatisfaction, and pain. A few weeks ago, we studied Ecclesiastes 3 together. In this beautiful, well-known poem, the author assumes, well, everything – a life marked by the good but also the sometimes-hard realities of life.
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity
under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a
time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain
from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Does your faith have room for everything? A consistent thread throughout the Bible is that God's people endure both the difficult and the easy, the weighty and the ordinary, the complex and the simple, the sadness and the hope, and on and on we could go. Everything. Most of us don't prefer a faith that includes everything because everything can expose us. Everything would include seasons of COVID, literally a time "to refrain from embracing." Everything includes loss and grief. Everything includes new normals when we were quite content with our old normals. Most of us envision a faith something a bit more like this:
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity
under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a
time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain
refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time o be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. .
A faith that does not assume everything or excludes certain uncertainties or excludes difficult times will always be inadequate and an inaccurate picture of faith in the Bible. In case you think this is some Old Testament diversion from New Testament faith, remember that three of the eight Beatitudes that Jesus taught his followers had to do with poverty of spirit, mourning, and persecution (Matthew 5:3-12). In these difficult days, a good question to ask ourselves is: do I have the kind of faith that can endure everything? While no one wishes to experience the uncertainty of difficult times, let's be sure we don't edit out real life from real faith. Life sometimes really does feel like waves are crashing in upon us, but a faith that assumes everything will endure.