Fast Food for Christians

This is a picture of me climbing in the Red River Gorge, Kentucky. I am at Left Flank on a climb called "Fast Food for Christians," a 5.10a. I really miss the climbing in the Red. I hear of all these great new places that are being bolted down there and want to go back. I have decided to try to make it down there right before Thanksgiving, given that my shoulder heals.

Before I go I want to really think about the name of this climb pictured here, "Fast Food for Christians." I think too often Christians in America try to get their quick fix of Christianity, whether it be by attending church Sunday morning or listening to the radio on the way to work. I want to say that many Christians want a quick fix solution to their problems. They hope that in some way that the message they heard on Sunday or the book that they just got and are reading will make their problems go away. I think this is straight up absurd.

I know for myself that their are no easy fix solutions to some of the things that I have experienced in life. I or my family may be forgiven but the damage has still been done, and I will have to live in the consequences of what happened. If you try to bandage it, the bandaid will just cover it up till a later time when it will fall off and be exposed again. It takes time to work through the issues that we face in our day to day in our lives. Some issues may take a life time, while others may take months or even years. I hope to not sound harsh but the Christian life is not abour forgetting what has happened to us but pushing through and seeing how God can make use of you in the midst of your circumstances. It also shows a complete reliance and dependance on God.

My parents recently went through a divorce. There is are a ton of issues that I am dealing with as a result of this divorce. I know that I cannot put the divorce on the back burner, but I must work through this nasty and sucky life experience and see God's grace on the other side of it. This is not going to be quick and easy. It may take a lifetime for me to process it, but I must move through it. Ministry has no quick fixes. It is not fast paced like the rest of society. You cannot pay money and have an operation to remove some of the experiences that one has had. It is a slow work through thick mud. It is one where it takes time and patience. It takes solid friendships. It takes holistic healing. It takes something and someone bigger than ourselves to make it happen. It takes God.