Theology/Ministry Driven by Love or by Pain/Wounds/Anger

Pain or being wounded is certainly not an extraterrestrial experience for humankind. Anyone on earth can go through it. The question is: how do we deal with it?

Sometimes, without realizing it, we dress up our pain and wounds in words that demand attention (and of course, there is a rightful place to express pain), yet we can forget how to resolve it with God.

One of the temptations for a minister in serving others is a service that is driven by unresolved disappointment, pain, trauma (perhaps even revenge), or unholy anger. The theology or ministry that flows from this is not driven by love, but rather by anger and pain.

Of course, we can speak of righteous anger, which indeed can inspire beautiful theology or ministry. But here we are talking about anger that comes from pain or disappointment. Even Moses was not immune to this. He once acted in anger and was ultimately forbidden from entering the Promised Land. Look also at Jephthah, who perhaps, because of childhood or youthful trauma, was willing to sacrifice whatever came out of his house (maybe as an attempt to prove he was worthy of God’s love?). Isn’t that exhausting?

Perhaps in our childhood we were mocked, belittled, looked down upon, hurt—and we spent our entire lives trying to prove that we never deserved to be treated that way (including through our ministry and theology).

We are not saying that ministry like this cannot be used by God. God always has the power and breadth of heart to use people like this—but there is, in fact, a better alternative.

That alternative is ministry or theology driven by love—not hatred, not anger, not unresolved pain, not disappointment, and certainly not revenge.

Pain and wounds can be healed in God, who is able to bind them up. A person who is bound up by God will come to know the sweetness of His love. From this place, they learn to forgive and to see the past in the light of God’s grace.

Of course, we are not called to minimize or make light of our pain and wounds. In fact, God cares deeply about them. In His solidarity, He too experienced wounds alongside us—even dying ahead of our death.

But our God is not only capable of solidarity. He, the Risen One, is able to empower us to grasp the depth of divine love.

Ministering and theologizing driven by love is indeed difficult. It requires self-denial, because we may prefer to showcase our unresolved pain and demand attention and affection, rather than bear witness to the sufficiency of God’s love in Christ.

May our theology and ministry reflect and testify to the forgiveness of God—both His forgiveness toward us, and also forgiveness toward those who have wounded us.