The Sufferer

a statement: “father, my faith is fleeting---i simply cannot shake these questions inside which plague me to no end---i feel that all the things in this world which made sense to me under the power of god have begun to fall apart & the truth that once was, which i once held onto--- it is fading…vanishing.” a response: “my son, do not fret---the lord god is simply testing you. with each trial you face, with each moment of questioning, with each doubt you cast upon your faith, you strengthen it! you become a stronger servant to god when you come back from this place! remember you are always able to be drawn back to the devil---the walk with god is not one which does not have pits & branches over which you will stumble---you must get up, dust yourself off, and praise god for giving you the chance to prove how strong your faith really is in him!” a statement: “but why must i constantly be tested? why must i constantly prove my own faith when i see so many more reasons to fall away from god? it seems every single day something new shows itself to me which makes me question all that i have been told, all that i have learned growing up---so why should i endure this when it all seems it is simply for the sake of an unrequited fantasy?” a response: “listen to yourself, my son. do you think our savior didn’t go through his own questioning of what the prophets had said? do you think it was easy for him to suffer for the sins of the world? he died on the cross for you---he died on the cross! he did this so that you will have eternal life---but you must put your faith in him, and it must not falter, despite your temporal moments of doubt. ask yourself this, do you want to be the one whose faith is in question when our savior returns to judge the living and the dead? do you want to be THAT GUY?” a statement: “i guess not…i guess not, father.”