When beginning any journey, it is good to know the rules of the road--roadsigns (when understood and observed) help. This is not only true of driving on a road, but also traveling on the road of religious faith.
When you hear the word religion, and specifically the word Christianity, it may conjure up visions of big red stop signs--stop drinking, stop smoking, stop swearing, stop doing this or that, stop believing this or that, stop being who you really are. Or perhaps the word Christianity conjures up images of a cross walk sign--stay within the
bounds of right belief and right practice, and God will protect you from getting hurt (and maybe even reward you with tangible goods and wealth as a bonus). Wander outside the set boundaries, and you might just get run over.
When you hear the word religion, and specifically the word Christianity, it may conjure up visions of big red stop signs--stop drinking, stop smoking, stop swearing, stop doing this or that, stop believing this or that, stop being who you really are. Or perhaps the word Christianity conjures up images of a cross walk sign--stay within the
bounds of right belief and right practice, and God will protect you from getting hurt (and maybe even reward you with tangible goods and wealth as a bonus). Wander outside the set boundaries, and you might just get run over.The words religion and Christianity have not always conjured up signs or images that are positive. There is justification for hesitancy in trusting organized religion when it has not always acted with the grace and integrity it professes to believe. But there is something at the heart of faith that is good and enduring in the midst of human nature that is not.
What is at the heart of the Christian faith is the love of God that embraces the forgotten, the persecuted, the lonely, the guilty and the shamed. It is this love that has the power to humble the self-righteous and draw in the most disenfranchised. God's love gives second chances and helps us to learn how to live in and appreciate the great diversity of the world.
If I w
ere to suggest a sign for the journey of faith it would be the following: caution--winding road ahead. The journey of faith is just that, a journey filled with unforeseen twists and turns, ups and downs. We Meander through faith watching and waiting for the unexpected, hopeful love of God.
ere to suggest a sign for the journey of faith it would be the following: caution--winding road ahead. The journey of faith is just that, a journey filled with unforeseen twists and turns, ups and downs. We Meander through faith watching and waiting for the unexpected, hopeful love of God.So journey on...meander a bit...and look for God in unexpected places.
