TJ

It hurts when things don’t go according to plan. Think back to a time in your life when you believed everything was possible. You were convinced your cape and mask was all you needed to leap from the roof. A toy crown on your head was all you needed to feel like a princess; ready and waiting for your prince charming to sweep you off your feet. It was a happy time. No one could have convinced you these things were not possible. And then life happens.

Not only did you not become an astronaut but you also went through a painful divorce – a pain you never anticipated or prepared for. Humans are creatures of certainty. We like it when we can map things out in our head and those things happen as we planned. We don’t like disappointment. No matter how many times we hear that it is a part of life and can actually make us better; we never make room for it.

Divorce is one of the toughest disappointments to bear. In a sense, it’s like a death – a form of loss. Something that began promising happiness, fails to deliver. People ask you questions – what happened?, who’s to blame?- this only heightens the pain of the entire situation.

There are times when divorce is the result of specific, definable circumstances such as abuse or infidelity. Most times, however, the answers are not as clear. Any attempt to find them serve no purpose at all except to make everyone involved feel worse.

Another unavoidable consequence of divorce is the strong condemnation it carries within religious circles. Who can escape the judging eyes and conspiracy theories of those looking from the outside. ‘They weren’t strong enough. Why can’t they stick it out like the older generation?’ 

The Christian community has, unfortunately, done very well at criminalizing people who chose divorce. They are no longer fit to be ‘good examples’ for young people and are ceremoniously asked to step down from ‘ministry’. The optics of divorce are not what a lot of churches are willing to handle.

If you have experienced or are currently going through a divorce, the most important thing to recognize is that there is still hope. I am talking here about hope for life and a better future. Regardless of what people may say, God loves you. You were never supposed to live your life to please people but rather to please your father in heaven. I am yet to meet a father who wants their child to live in misery.

There’s a lot that could still be said here but one scripture makes clear how great God’s love is; a fitting one with which to end this post: “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8:31-39). The word ‘nothing’ means just that – nothing, including divorce. 

To be clear, this isn’t an attempt to oversimplify a tough and life-altering experience. There’s much more to the process of rebuilding one’s life than the quoting of a Bible verse. So, think of this passage of scripture, not as a quick-fix or ‘positive confession’, but as a single building block among many others, in the journey of starting again. 

Tomorrow, South Africans from all walks of life will line up at polling stations to vote for the men and women they want to see lead them over the next few years.

Anyone who knows the history of South Africa knows that it’s a nation with a difficult past and with many complex challenges still to overcome. The country’s economy is a matter of concern. On one hand, the private sector is keeping a close eye on things to see if the environment is a profitable one for investment. On the other, there is a restlessness amongst formerly oppressed communities who demand swifter and more decisive change. Sadly, that change is not always forthcoming in a nation where scandal after scandal is unearthed, exposing the corrupt dealings of the very people that were meant to make life better for so many.

After the fall of the apartheid era, it felt like a new dawn had come for South Africa. The feeling in the air was that we’d seen the birth of a shining light – the Rainbow Nation, a place of hope for all who live in it. The events of the past few years, however – the rise in violent crime, joblessness and poverty, the scourge of HIV and AIDS, against the backdrop of serious leadership failure – have all contributed to many questioning what the future holds for South Africa. Opposition party leaders exclaim boldly from podiums, making the claim that their policies can make things better. “Vote for me,” they say, “and I’ll make sure that all your troubles will go away”. Could it be, though, that it’s not as simple as all that?

South Africa’s election day provides a very timely opportunity for deep reflection. Are the things we see happening around us unique to the nation, or are they merely a snapshot of the overall human condition? As humans, we are capable of scaling great heights and developing amazing technologies. When we apply our minds, we can achieve astounding feats. But sometimes we need to realise that many of our problems are just a reflection of the state our hearts. All people – even the most charming of politicians – have issues that need to be resolved at a level deeper than election manifestos and promises. There’s no question that we must pray and ask God for peace and a trouble-free voting and counting process. It’s also important that we pause to remember that God has made certain promises too and perhaps we should internalize the implications of those promises on our individual lives.

Through His son Jesus Christ, God extends His hand to humanity to make the promise of helping us deal with the inner struggles we face at the soul level. It’s no quick fix, mind you. Jesus went as far as to guarantee that we would face all kinds of troubles in this world. Yet, despite the trouble, He offers life and hope. That hope is not dependent upon who’s in power or what policies have been implemented or not. It’s a relationship with Him that shapes us and enables us to navigate life, with all its hurts, troubles and disappointments. Choosing Christ as a saviour is a choice, much like an election. Yet, its implications are far greater. Leaders and systems may come and go but God promises that His love for us remains forever.

If you don’t have a relationship with God and want to know how you can explore one, chat to us below. Even if you have questions and want to engage with us on matters of faith, we encourage you to connect with us.

We live in a very exciting time of innovation and creativity. For the digitally knowledgeable among us, we know this time as the Information Age. Unlike in ages past where, to find out about something important, you had to leave home and visit your local library or museum, nowadays things are very different. To use a well-used phrase, all the information we could ever need is available ‘right at our fingertips’. By merely pulling out a device from your pocket and tapping a screen, you can find out anything you want to. To be uninformed in this day and age, you literally must tell yourself, “I want to be uninformed”. Of course, that’s not quite accurate as we must factor in access to information, which is a huge thing to consider in many parts of the world. Still, my exaggerated statement is to make the point that we live in a time where information is more readily available than it has ever been.

Yet, for all the information and tools for accessing that information that this current generation prides itself on, it never ceases to amaze how much people are searching for meaning, truth and intimacy. Take for example, the rise of social media. These platforms make a huge promise – to connect us in ways in which we’ve never been able to connect before. In these digital times, we thrive on two key words: connecting and sharing. In a matter of split-seconds, I can become friends with a person halfway across the globe and then share with that individual whatever I choose to. By their very definitions, the words ‘connect’ and share’ imply a certain level of intimacy. When we talk about connecting, it goes beneath what’s on the surface and travels into the realm of the soul. One almost imagines something unbreakable and lasting. Sharing is a giving of one’s deeper self, allowing another to see what would not easily be seen. I have no facts to prove this but I am pretty convinced that, deep in the boardrooms of the now-massive corporations where the seeds of social media were sown, whoever chose to bring words like ‘friend’, ‘connect’ and ‘share’ into the domain of social media knew very well that those words are linked to a deep human yearning for something profound. On one hand, social media has created opportunities for us to form relationships in ways that are easier than we could before. However, on the other hand, these platforms have watered down concepts that should carry far more weight than they do now. No amount of Google searches and no number of Facebook friends can fill the space that we need filled by something deeper in our lives.

No matter the speed or level of our advancement as a species, human beings have always searched for meaning in our pursuits. One of those pursuits is the desire for acceptance and love in our human relationships. Though we try to mask it or underplay it, deep down we know that life is so much better and so much more meaningful when we live it with a sense that we are truly connected to others, and to something greater. Even the wealthiest of men and women come to a point in their journeys where they realise that there is only so much that an individual can do with money in a lifetime. This may explain why many top-flight executives and business achievers become philanthropists at some point in their careers.  This may be their way of saying “I’m not here to just be a money-making machine. I have worked so that humanity may share in what I’ve been able to achieve”.

What it all comes down to, then, is relationship. We can’t deny that have a deep, innate desire to truly connect and share. It’s in these things that we find meaning. The abundance of information alone cannot sustain us. What we know, on its own, can’t take us very far unless it’s outworked in meaningful, trusting relationship. It’s for this very reason that much of what we know about Jesus Christ revolves around relationship. He isn’t a distant saviour. As much as He wants us to know what He has done for humanity, He desires even more that we know it in the context of a relationship with Him. His invitation is for us to truly connect with him and share, in a real way, every aspect of our lives with Him.

A meaningful relationship with Christ isn’t about religion, church preference or just being a good person. It’s about knowing His love and direction in a very personal way. If this is something you have questions and want to know more about, please get in touch with us.