I wrote too much for my weekly email so there is more here for historical purposes.
I mentioned recently that I had picked up a copy of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. I hit the halfway point this past weekend. He starts the book off by telling you he wrote it to convince people there is not a God. There has only been (to my recollection) one minor point that I would contest but based on the words selected I would give grace and move on (did the Apostle Paul found Christianity?). And there has only been one major point that I believe he did not write enough about – that the gospels were not historical. He referenced several books and made high level comments but I thought it was a poorly done section of the book. I may try to find time to read the referenced books – we shall see.
That being said, the rest of the book has been absolutely invigorating. I dare say that if my theology was weak, I would have been converted to atheism in the second or third chapter. I have been nerding out with infinite regress, irreducible complexity, is God simple or complex, multiverse, meme theory, and morality. The guy is a brilliant atheist. The book is well written and the thinking it has fueled in my head has been refreshing and exhilarating. Just ask me if you see me in person and I’ll nerd out for you – I did warn you. I have thanked God for His grace even more while reading this book because without grace there is nothing at all.
So it was a rough week. As I was leaving work Friday, I literally bit my hand to hold the tears back. I almost lost it twice before I got to my car. Honestly, I would have loved to drown my sorrow but I knew that would not help. Many of the people I deal with on a regular basis lack basic life skills and motivation. One can’t wake up in the morning, stop doing drugs for more than a few weeks, or spend any amount of time looking for a job. Another can’t manage money, appears to have no motivation beyond a slightly better than minimum wage job, and isn’t responsible enough to make sure there is food to eat. Still another can’t manage time, money, or love. The list just continues on.
Saturday morning I asked myself a question. Are these people worth helping? The answer to that question might be (might be) no, they are not worth helping. Even now as I think about them, I want to give up on them. But after I asked that question, God asked me a different question. Are they worth loving? The answer to that question was yes, they are worth loving. Of course LORD, they are worth loving. I opened my Bible to Psalm 40. “I relied completely on the LORD, and he turned toward me and heard my cry for help.”
Do I believe that?