The See-saw of Faith

“For God so loved...that He gave His only son...” John 3:16a.

When I was a little girl there was a park in our town that had a see-saw. I don’t remember a time before that sunny day when I had ever gotten on one. Thankfully, I cannot remember who was on the other side of the see-saw when I was on it, but there was a group of kids with me. All I remember was the moment they jumped off when I was high in the air and my side came crashing to the ground. What a jolt! What a surge of pain up my back which left me sore, angry, and resentful. I had done nothing to deserve that but was having to experience it.

I read this morning that faith is the fulcrum of our moral and spiritual balance. ‘Think of a see-saw. The fulcrum is the point where the see-saw rests. And my moral and spiritual balance depends on that stability of faith,’ Suffering is Never for Nothing, Elisabeth Elliot, p. 45. When suffering is thrust upon us our lives crash to the ground sending an undeniable bolt of pain throughout our body...physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. It requires the very thing that we rarely have in order to bring our lives back into balance...acceptance. If faith is the fulcrum, then acceptance is the journey back to balance. ‘Acceptance...is the key to peace in this business of suffering...the crux of the whole matter is the cross of Jesus Christ. It is the best thing that ever happened in human history as well as the worst thing,’ pp 41-42. That suffering was a result of God’s deep love for you and me. The only way to avoid suffering is to avoid love. Would we have rather that God never blessed us with our loved ones to avoid the present suffering? Of course not, so what we are left with is the painful, messy, and overwhelming journey towards acceptance and peace. While our circumstances may be chaotic, ‘We’re not adrift in chaos. We’re held in the everlasting arms. And therefore, and this makes a difference, we can be at peace and we can accept. We can say yes, Lord, I’ll take it. I don’t like what You’re doing. I don’t understand it. But I will trust You,’ pp 44-45.

God will show us the next step in our journey towards the fulcrum of faith. Our footprints will be imprinted with peace and acceptance every little step we take but we must move...we must choose...we must believe.  Acceptance is not an evil word but a life-giving promise that God will use to bring us into His merciful healing and transcending peace. There is not one circumstance that any one person is enduring that is uncommon to mankind. We all will love those who God has blessed our lives with. We all will be called to live without those loved ones when God in His ultimate plan takes them home. That is God’s will for every one of us as believers and it's what we are destined for. I’m so grateful that there is more than this world and that I will one day live forever with every one whom I have loved and lost.