As we begin the new year, I jotted down a number of somewhat random thoughts about life, truth, spirituality, and related matters. These are very much “off the cuff,” so you’ll have to forgive their messiness. Hope they make sense!● Church is about connecting at a variety of levels with likeminded people.
It’s not about programs, a building, an obvious or detailed agenda. What matters are relationships with people, true bonding with individuals who share a common perspective.
● Spirituality is a journey not an achievement or an arrival.
Our journey has a beginning, which may or may not be identifiable. More importantly, though, it is ongoing and not stagnant. We should never lose the sense of faith that is connected to the One who says, “Follow Me.” It’s a journey
● The walk of faith is dangerous, necessary, and worth it.
It’s not always easy, and it was never intended to be. The walk of faith takes you through places that are not easily understood or traversed. But this dangerous necessity is definitely worth it.
● Knowing what it right, and even being willing to state it as such, does not necessitate a defensive posture toward outsiders.
We can speak the truth in love. We can live out the truth with compassion and concern instead of meanness and defensiveness. There are times when we must learn to chill out.
● The big stuff should govern our lives and not silly little things.
Priorities–What are our priorities, and do they match those of, say, Paul in Athens (Acts 17) or Jesus throughout his ministry? The trivial must never overshadow the essential. And what is paramount? God’s love demonstrated in and through Jesus, and our comprehension of this love. Loving God and our neighbor. Our expression of this love in heart and life. Following him. Etc.
● Knowing and not knowing must be held constantly in tension.
Knowing (or, at least, thinking that we’re “in the know”) alone leads to arrogance, close-mindedness, and narrow thinking. Acknowledging our ignorance, if that’s all we do, can lead to relativism and a lack of backbone. We need both. Somehow, we must comprehend that knowledge is possible, while simultaneously recognizing that we never know perfectly.
● What we look like, sound like, how we dress, where we go–these and other matters are not to be determined either by a politically correct world or an in-your-face church.
Our look–what we practically do, how we live, the manner in which we give expression to our faith–is something that we grow into over time and must be properly informed.
● It is often both much simpler and far more complicated than we anticipated.
There is a simple complexity to many things. Sometimes, life is much simpler than we make it out to be, and we must allow this simplicity to guide us. Other times (or occasionally and paradoxically at the same times), life is more complicated than we had imagined. These two (simplicity and complexity) must be held in tension, for together they will often be our guide.
● Truth claims are best held with conviction and yet something of a loose grip.
Humble Confidence should flow from our lives. We can and must be dogmatic at some level about some things. But, we must be equally aware of our own imperfect understanding and our sheer humanness. Sometimes, we are wrong. Other times we must tweak our beliefs. Always, we must balance confidence and humility.
● We are to share not only nuggets of truth but our lives with other people.
Of course we must convey helpful information to others, but our efforts will be greatly hampered if we don’t actually care about them.
● Our goal is to love those who cross our paths, period!
We should never treat people like they are our religious projects (God forbid!). We must not come across like we are trying to sneak little religious formulas into our conversations. Our intent is not to deceive others into following some prescribed or hidden agenda. While we can and must–when appropriate and unforced–share our convictions with others, we do so because these convictions are a part of who and what we are, and because we care enough to open ourselves up to others.
● We must remember that truth is first and foremost God’s, and it is only ours by grace.
Therefore, when we share the truth, we must do it as his representatives and not as religious salespersons.
● We are fellow travelers with others in this strange and often puzzling world.
We should never approach life as if we are spiritually superior (for we aren’t) or as those who already have all of the answers (for we don’t). Whatever wisdom we have been granted (not ultimately earned), we are still very much like those who don’t currently appear to possess this same wisdom. We have more gaps in our lives than we often realize, and so we must never forget that we, too, require greater insight and wholeness. We’re travelers.
● When the truth is attacked, we should be properly offended, but we should be offended for his sake and not primarily our own.
There should not be a disconnect between the truth and the God of truth. While those who embrace the truth will sometimes experience criticism, the real reason truth is rejected by some is because God himself is rejected. Jesus said, “They will persecute you because they first persecuted Me.” It’s important to keep this in perspectives, so that our responses are more gracious, that is, more like those of Jesus himself.
● We don’t know with any level of certainty the destinies of most people we meet.
While we can and must make certain tentative judgments, we must be very careful not to pretend to know God’s business, and we should always maintain a sense of hope in the One who is referred to as the God of hope.
● What God is after includes but is not limited to future destiny.
We should see that which is “Later” (the future, heaven, etc.) through the lens of the here-and-now. Our journey to the eschaton is by means of the path of today. Today really matters. On the other hand, we should also see our “Now” through the reality of what awaits. Our now is informed and motivated by the eschaton.
● We must be ever aware of and listening for the music that God is playing in our lives.
God operates in our lives on a regular basis, but we often miss it. Part of this is due to the fact that we tend to be foolish. But another reason for our being oblivious is that we fail to recognize that he “shows up” in ways that are outside the realm of our expectations. The church teaches that he comes to us in prescribed ways (through preaching, Bible reading, etc.), which he often does. But he is also very present (more so?) during the regular routines of life. He's playing his music. Are we paying attention? Lord, give us "the hearing ear."
So, there you have it, a handful of rather arbitrary and somewhat overlapping suggestions. These are things that matter to me, and so I thought I’d share them. Happy new year . . . and beyond.
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