Comfort

I went camping last night with my brother and a few friends in the Pike National Forest of Colorado. Our campsite was somewhere near 10,000 feet in elevation, and a cold front brought snow and falling temperatures that registered 26 degrees around 7:00 a.m. this morning. I built a fire and huddled close enough for my shins and toes to roast while anything on my body more than two feet from the fire seemed to shiver and spasm involuntarily. The cold kept me close to the fire and also to those sharing the few cubic feet of space affected by it's glow.

That last sentence could preach!

As I hovered over that fire this morning, I began thinking about some of the other things that are bringing discomfort to my life at the moment...things that are beyond our control such as missing our friends and home in Ireland or our Irish home not selling because of the housing crisis. Just about the time that the "death spiral" had taken over in my thinking, I was reminded again of the faithfulness of God even in the midst of those moments of crisis and travail. My sense of bullish entitlement faded, and I was prompted to remember that suffering -- whether great or small -- is a shared human experience, and even people of faith are not excluded from it.

Comfort seems to be a core value these days. Sometimes we live our lives as if nothing else matters but our own comfort and security. I don't believe it is a biblical value, but it certainly is a cultural one. We are immersed in a culture of convenience where the highest pursuit seems to be making our lives more comfortable -- even at the expense of others if necessary. This idolotry of comfort has skulked its way into our understanding of God and the expectations we have of our churches. God has become our genie in a bottle whose belly we rub when we face trials (and minor inconveniences) of many kinds.

Is God still a good God even in the face of our suffering? My heart and soul leap in affirmation of his goodness!

Suffering as a human being -- and as a Christian -- is normal! But our discomfort is a far cry from genuine suffering, and it is so easy for us to get the two confused when living in a land of privilege. Jesus identified with humanity in his suffering, and when we identify with Jesus, the suffering of humanity becomes our concern. He laid aside his comfort and security to bring us mercy and to help us know God. How easy it is for me to get caught up in myself!

The cold kept me close to the fire...and it kept me close to those who shared the same level of displeasure and the same longing to be warm. I'm grateful for both.

"I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.

In this world, you will have trouble.

But take heart! I have overcome the world."

(Jesus, John 16:33)