Earlier this week, I tweeted a link to a video that absolutely broke my heart. If you haven't already watched it, give it a look, and then continue to read for my reaction.
I wonder, would Jim Gilliam's perspective had been the same if his identity as a Christian was based in Christ rather than in Jerry Falwell, Rush Limbaugh or fundamentalist politics?
There's no doubt in my mind that Falwell was the cornerstone of this guy's faith. That's why any pastor who becomes bigger than what it is he's preaching, is a HUGE red flag to me. Sooner or later, the brokenness of that man will be exposed, and if a congregation is dependent on him for their faith and spiritual growth, then the whole thing is just smoke and mirrors.
See, if the little "g" gospel that's being preached and received is how you are entitled to anything outside of eternal salvation by faith in God/Christ, then when bad things happen you feel like the Lord has betrayed you
He owes us nothing, yet He gave us His son.
This world is broken by sin and bad things happen. God is good, but that doesn't mean that your life will always be "good". It's ignorant and myopic to think that God is responsible for the bad and not the good. Or, another way, that if the bad that befalls you outweighs what you perceive to be the good that He has given you, He can't be the "good" God that you understand.
As Matt Chandler has so eloquently put it, we'll shake our fists at Him if a plane falls from the sky, but not think about the thousands each day that take off and land safely.
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