Rain and Religion

As I sit in my hostel room in Siantar, Indonesia the power is out again and the rain is pouring down outside. I can’t help but be thankful that the rain has come and hopefully it will help keep the dust settled, and the temperatures will cool off a bit.

The fact that I am thankful for rain has me a bit amazed, rewind to two years ago when I was sitting in my apartment in Tokyo. I HATED rainy days. I would always be in such a bad mood when the rainy season came, as everything was wet, laundry was near impossible to dry and my commute to work was that much more miserable. At different times and stages in my life I have revered rain in different ways, and I began to think this evening (as thinking is about the only thing I can do until my computer battery dies) why do I have such mixed feelings about rain?

As an American, who has never lived on a farm or in a farming community, I believe I am too far removed from the NEED of rain to appreciate when the rain comes. The food I buy at the grocery store in there regardless if it rains or not, I have no crops that need water, and my drinking water comes from the tap. The parking lots that occupy Chicago serve as places for water to collect and damage the concrete that has been poured. The rain seeps into buildings and floods basements, and heaven forbid you leave your car windows down. The rain to me in Chicago is a burden that will only delay my commute to work in the mornings.

Whereas here in Indonesia, I can sense the NEED for rain, the need from water to fall from the heavens. The ground is not over paved; it is not a concrete jungle. The ground can absorb the rain and use it to nourish the plants which in turn nourish the people. The need for water is still fresh and very relevant.

This concept made me think of a conversation I had with the Bishop of the Lutheran Church of Singapore, Bishop Kee. We were discussing the religious context of Singapore, and what it means to have a country with first generation Christians. During his installation the Bishop from Thailand gave a great sermon about his faith journey that led him from a Buddhist family into the Christian faith. He told a story of learning about Christianity and what it means to have Christ in your life, and the concept of eternal life. He asked his Buddhist Monk uncle, “When you die, how do you know you’re going to heaven?” His uncle replied “I don’t, all I can do is try my hardest. If I do not succeed I will have another life to try.” This answer pushed him even further into the Christian faith.

As a first generation Christian, the idea of being liberated from personal acts of merit to try and earn your way into heaven, versus the Christian faith where we are saved through grace alone the moment Christ died on the cross, is like having a heavy burden lifted off your shoulders. To go from being personally responsible for your own destiny and your pursuit into heaven, to the idea that nothing we can do is ever worthy but Christ loves us SO much that his one act saves us all…is like that first breath of air. The first time air is in your lungs and you are not struggling to breathe underwater.

Then Bishop Kee said something to me that was a painful slap in the face. He said, as America, a country of cradle Christians you have forgotten why you need religion. Having Christ is your life is the norm, the status quo and you have forgotten what life is like without Christ and therefore do not appreciate the freedom that comes from knowing your sins are forgiven. The concept that we are so far removed from a time “before” Christianity that is it hard for us to see why we need to be forgiven, why we need Jesus to save us. Why we need rain.

I have always said that I find myself respecting converts into the Christian faith more than people like myself who grew up Christian. I think it is a much bolder statement of faith to have converted and have the memory fresh in your mind of what life was like before, and what a new life is like within the body of Christ. As a nation, of primarily Christians, have we forgotten the burden of trying to earn our own salvation to the extent that we take the gift Christ has given us for granted?

Much like the rains that come, and we know are necessary, but in our daily lives we do not fully appreciate, I wonder if the gift of grace is often looked upon with the same feelings.