Happily Ever After?
Have you ever noticed that there are some stories within the Bible that do not have a resolved ending? The story of Jonah leaves us hanging as we do not know how Jonah finally responds to God's act of mercy upon the Ninevite city. The Prodigal Son is another story that does not illustrate a neat ending, as we are left hanging upon the Father's rebuke to his more responsible son.
Characters in Tension
Or how about the seemingly dual nature of some of our heroes of faith, such as Abraham who twice lied about Sarah being his wife, Jacob the deceiver who spent a lifetime in deception and chaos, and Moses and David, both murderers? Sometimes it seems as if stories exist in the Bible to tell us what not to do, as in the case of Samson's entire life. And speaking of Judges, the closing story of the book ends on the somber note that "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit" (Judges 21:25, NIV).
Faith in Tension
We do not like unresolved conflicts, tension, or stories. We especially do not like unresolved tension in our spiritual life. We like to know that everything will always work out. We would prefer to have things neatly packaged and stories resolved, yet as Walter Brueggemann said, "Faith is not always resolved in life."
Faith calls for our us to live within the tension of conflict and peace, deliverance and oppression, and unresolved stories and circumstances that do not always have a clear ending. Just as life cannot be neatly packaged and resolved, so our faith is not always neat, not always resolved, and often in tension.
As our faith grows, the more we can accept the unknown and the unresolved as our faith ultimately resides in the God who has overcome the world. As Jesus himself honestly said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33, NIV).
Faith involves living between two worlds: the now and the not yet, and that causes us to live in tension....
