And so, just like that, the Lenten fasts are over and now we celebrate the Resurrection. The journey that we embarked on Ash Wednesday is over and now we move on with what we’ve learned on the journey.
In all of my ponderings over the past weeks, I think the one thing that struck me the most is that the journey continues. Easter may have come and gone. Celebrations are in order. But the truth is that the journey never ends. We have celebrations and sorrows. We have highs and lows. We have feasts and famines. For everything there is a season, but three things remain: our faith in God, our foundation in Christ, and our obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit within us.
And yet, there we waiver just as much as in anything else, because our human nature challenges us in all things. We may be certain in our salvation, but our faith along the way is always tempered and tested by doubt. All it takes is something unexpected, some setback, something that flies in the face of “how it should be” and we start to doubt. Does God care? Is He real? Is Christ holding us secure, or are we swaying in the winds of chance? Is that the Spirit prompting us, our own will, or something else?
Why is that? How many times must God prove Himself faithful? The truth is that He doesn’t have to do it ever. He owes us no explanations. And yet, if we really and honestly look over our lives, we can see where He has proved faithful to us through His promises over and over again. He doesn’t move; we do. And sometimes, figuring out where we are is like trying to navigate with a map that doesn’t have a compass on it. We see where we are, but we don’t know how to move on from here. What direction should we take? Where should we go? Where’s the right path; the path to where we belong? And that’s where we get in trouble. As I said in previous entries: free will is God’s greatest gift, and our greatest stumbling block.
And people think that a Christian’s life should be simple. It’s anything but! Believe me, we have just as many questions as you do. Maybe more. Sometimes the big picture is more of a riddle than a mosaic. And I’m not afraid to tell you that I hate riddles. It’s the age old battle of good versus evil, and if you think that believers have it figured out – well, let me just tell you that any person of faith that tries to tell you they “get it” all is lying. The surest sign of the devil at work is certainty that you’re right. It’s the questions that define our faith, not the answers. And that just means our ability to accept the questions, and that we won’t have all the answers. There may not be answers, at least that we could ever understand. Certainly not that would satisfy us, anyway. See what I mean by a riddle now?
People aren’t wrong to celebrate the Resurrection. In fact, they should do it. It is, after all, why we don’t have to have all of the answers. It’s why we’re human beings, not humans doing. Our job is to be what we were created to be . It sounds simple, and sometimes it is. Sometimes, it isn’t. Sometimes, the path isn’t so clear. But we’re always on the journey, from the day we’re born until the day we die. The question is our location. We’re simply called to take life a day at a time, and sometimes even a step at a time. We know the final destination, but we don’t always know the path. That takes a faith that requires renewing every day.
And so the journey continues. I pray that you’ve made your own significant discoveries in these days of reflection, and that your life is better for it now as we celebrate knowing that the end result is certain. So celebrate, knowing that it all means something good, even if you don’t always get it. And if you don’t like riddles, then just focus on the journey, a step at a time.
I’ve enjoyed taking this Lenten journey with you, and I hope you’ve enjoyed following me along on it. And now, we shall see what life brings next in the method of the madness in my rabbit hole.
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.
Bye!
In all of my ponderings over the past weeks, I think the one thing that struck me the most is that the journey continues. Easter may have come and gone. Celebrations are in order. But the truth is that the journey never ends. We have celebrations and sorrows. We have highs and lows. We have feasts and famines. For everything there is a season, but three things remain: our faith in God, our foundation in Christ, and our obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit within us.
And yet, there we waiver just as much as in anything else, because our human nature challenges us in all things. We may be certain in our salvation, but our faith along the way is always tempered and tested by doubt. All it takes is something unexpected, some setback, something that flies in the face of “how it should be” and we start to doubt. Does God care? Is He real? Is Christ holding us secure, or are we swaying in the winds of chance? Is that the Spirit prompting us, our own will, or something else?
Why is that? How many times must God prove Himself faithful? The truth is that He doesn’t have to do it ever. He owes us no explanations. And yet, if we really and honestly look over our lives, we can see where He has proved faithful to us through His promises over and over again. He doesn’t move; we do. And sometimes, figuring out where we are is like trying to navigate with a map that doesn’t have a compass on it. We see where we are, but we don’t know how to move on from here. What direction should we take? Where should we go? Where’s the right path; the path to where we belong? And that’s where we get in trouble. As I said in previous entries: free will is God’s greatest gift, and our greatest stumbling block.
And people think that a Christian’s life should be simple. It’s anything but! Believe me, we have just as many questions as you do. Maybe more. Sometimes the big picture is more of a riddle than a mosaic. And I’m not afraid to tell you that I hate riddles. It’s the age old battle of good versus evil, and if you think that believers have it figured out – well, let me just tell you that any person of faith that tries to tell you they “get it” all is lying. The surest sign of the devil at work is certainty that you’re right. It’s the questions that define our faith, not the answers. And that just means our ability to accept the questions, and that we won’t have all the answers. There may not be answers, at least that we could ever understand. Certainly not that would satisfy us, anyway. See what I mean by a riddle now?
People aren’t wrong to celebrate the Resurrection. In fact, they should do it. It is, after all, why we don’t have to have all of the answers. It’s why we’re human beings, not humans doing. Our job is to be what we were created to be . It sounds simple, and sometimes it is. Sometimes, it isn’t. Sometimes, the path isn’t so clear. But we’re always on the journey, from the day we’re born until the day we die. The question is our location. We’re simply called to take life a day at a time, and sometimes even a step at a time. We know the final destination, but we don’t always know the path. That takes a faith that requires renewing every day.
And so the journey continues. I pray that you’ve made your own significant discoveries in these days of reflection, and that your life is better for it now as we celebrate knowing that the end result is certain. So celebrate, knowing that it all means something good, even if you don’t always get it. And if you don’t like riddles, then just focus on the journey, a step at a time.
I’ve enjoyed taking this Lenten journey with you, and I hope you’ve enjoyed following me along on it. And now, we shall see what life brings next in the method of the madness in my rabbit hole.
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.
Bye!
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