At some point, Christians began using the word deconstruction to describe what might once have been called a crisis of faith or even, in some circles, backsliding. The dismantling of a person’s understanding of God and what it means to believe is a complex process, and the deconstructing Christian may end up leaving the faith altogether.
No one is immune from questions and doubts. Often a period of intense suffering or a significant disappointment will trigger a dismantling process. The question that plagues me like a pebble in the shoe, however, is this:
Why does the faith of some people survive loss and disillusionment while others crash and burn?
At the risk of oversimplification, I think we underestimate God’s patience and love, while at the same time overestimating the weight of our doubts and disillusionment. God is big enough to walk with us through the wreckage of our dismantling.
His invitation reveals that he is mindful of our creaturely weakness and confusion: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Whatever has triggered the wrestling, wisdom dictates that we sort through the shattered debris of our faith with God beside us rather than turning our back on God and trying to figure it out on our own.
Doubt and disillusionment become a reason to press on to know the Lord, to discover the vast landscape of his nature. Reconstructed faith will be stronger and deeper because it has been based on the character of God.
Doubt and disillusionment become a reason to press on to know the Lord, to discover the vast landscape of his nature. Reconstructed faith will be stronger and deeper because it has been based on the character of God.
Tweet
When I agreed to review Shooting Up by Jonathan Tepper, I was fairly certain I had the plot figured out: a struggling missionary kid becomes disillusioned with his parents’ fanatical devotion to ministry and ends up adopting a more “progressive” theological stance or abandoning his faith altogether—maybe even becoming a drug addict himself.
I was pleased to be wrong.
The Teppers were, indeed, missionaries to the drug-addicted community of Madrid, Spain during the onset of the AIDS epidemic. They served with zeal, and they endured numerous hardships and significant heartbreak. Jonathan, their second of four sons, did struggle with his parents’ rules and the brutal hardships of their chosen life, but he also knew that he “lived in a household where God talked back. [His] parents and God spoke to each other often.”
After planting Betel church in the city, the Teppers went on to establish a drug rehabilitation program and to install themselves as fixtures among the people, fighting heroin one addict at a time and supporting the addicts’ families as needed. Jonathan Tepper recalls, “The story of my family and of Betel is of fixing broken things and loving those who are hurting. It is in the brokenness that we find redemption, turning pain into beauty.”
The memoir paints a realistic and often bleak but never cynical picture of Tepper’s childhood as a missionary kid on a mission field that would have been the undoing of a family seeking its rewards this side of heaven. Despite the high cost of service, the story abounds with gleaming examples of lives transformed through the influence of a thriving faith community.
Passing out flyers to heroin addicts and watching his dearest friends succumb to the AIDS epidemic in Madrid, Jonathan Tepper shares his memoir of persevering faith. @infinitebooks
Tweet
Holding You in the Light,
New for You on the Bible App!
This seven-day devotional plan affirms that perseverance is so much more than simply hanging on. Those who follow Jesus Christ are familiar with the dogged patience of waiting, because we have read the words of Scripture about eternal rewards for those who endure. So we persevere—sometimes just because God has commanded us to. When the newness wears off, when we don’t feel like it, when everything just feels too hard, we press on, and we press in to Christ. He is the prize.
As you know, I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and it’s my goal to help you along that path. At Living Our Days, I provide biblical content and resources to encourage biblical literacy and faithful living, and now I’m sharing devotional content on the YouVersion app. Visit my profile page to get free access to all the reading plans!
Have You Read the Latest Newsletter?
On the third Wednesday of every month, I send a newsletter with biblical encouragement straight to my subscribers’ email inboxes. Frequently, I share free resources, and the newsletter is where all the news lands first.
CLICK HERE to find me on Substack, where my goal is to help you on the path of becoming a confident follower of God and a student of His Word.
Disclosure: I am an Amazon Associate, which means that whenever you purchase a book I’ve shared here through the link I provide, I’ll receive a very small commission. It doesn’t cost you more, and I only share books here that I can wholeheartedly recommend.
Many thanks to Infinite Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
Living Our Days 