questioning faith

Life circumstances
sometimes cause questions...
questions of each other,
questions of God.

A question a dear one posed...
For 300 years the ancient Hebrews lived in slavery.
We affirm the goodness of God
because the life of bondage ended
with the coming of Moses.

Yet, many of God's people lived and died in bondage
never seeing their hope realized.
How was God good for these people?

How is God good when life is a struggle?
The goodness of God we affirm...
yet
there are
holocausts,
cancer,
kidnappings,
murders.

Life circumstances
sometimes cause questions...
questions of each other,
questions of God.

I've heard questions.
I've asked questions.
That is the way of faith.

Today I read these words:

"So God comes to meet
men and women
out of (God's) future,
and in their history
reveals to them
new, open horizons,
which entice them
to set into the unknown
and invite them
to the beginning of the new."
(Jurgen Moltmann)

Moltmann
goes on to write:

We are not merely
in a state of waiting
for Christ to come...
for redemption,
fulfillment,
wholeness, completion
to arrive.

No the present is not
empty waiting....

the promise is
that Christ is
actively coming...
and if Christ is
actively coming
to meet us out of the future...
then the future
is already
present,
yet without
ceasing to be future.

I've heard questions.
I've asked questions.
Now I have homework.

How do I see,
feel,
taste,
believe
that the future
is already present...
yet without
ceasing to be future?

How do we live
life circumstances...
and not be in empty waiting?

Far too often we attempt to tie a nice neat bow
around our questions,
fears,
anger,
confusion,
emptiness.

We say to each other trite formulas...
Don't worry be happy...
Approach your adversary with playfulness...
Don't take things personally...
Get over it...
Choose your future...

Earlier this month Texas Governor Good Hair
spoke to victims of the Fort Hood shooting:
"All Texans pray for the speedy recovery of your broken hearts."

Speedy?

Most likely not.
It takes more time than most desire
for hearts to mend.

Thing is God is not so quick to
tie nice, neat bows...

And so our hearts must mend...
as we look in the distance
and see our
Lord and Savior
running from the future...

The future is here...
yet without ceasing to be future.

I suppose
here in lies an answer.