You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

      But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,

    will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

                                                  John 14.26

In the Goat Herder’s Guide we are told not lean upon our own understanding. To do this, to use our own judgment, will lead to our missing the opportunities that present themselves to us. As we learn to “walk in the spirit” we can only imagine what is next in our lives. Far too often what we do is that we baptize our perspective on life and call it Christianity. In my effort to fit the Gospel into my life, I simply find new justification for old behaviours and ways of thinking. Thus, nothing changes, and if nothing changes, then nothing changes.

We need a guide, we need something to help us to decide what is the next right step. It is admirable to have a final goal, a destination we keep in sight. It always comes down to what is the next right step. This is not to suggest that there is no place or role for our own imagination or judgement. Part of our having the nature of God is our ability to discern. We all carry a base understanding of what is right and wrong, what is beneficial or harmful. Yet, like a Michealangelo sculpture, we are works of love in progress. We lack the perspective and we lack the design. For this, we need to rely on the master artist.

In our world that stresses self-determination, of charting our own course, the idea that we do not know what we are to do is considered offensive. The idea that we follow a path charted by another is laughable. Undoubtedly, there are those that have charted their own course, and have become successful. I think these would be the exceptions as opposed to the norm. I feel fortunate that my journey began within the wreckage that addiction had made of my life. That starkness provided clarity. Also, I am grateful that I encountered a fellowship that offered a way out. A way out that required daily seeking of direction.

We have the Holy Spirt, the Advocate, the Councillor, to guide us in what is the next step. This is the master artist. I need to abandon my confidence in how I perceive the world as being the “correct” vision. I am grateful that far too often my sojourns of self-directed passion have ended in embarrassment. It keeps me humble. It keeps me more open and reliant to the leading of the Spirit.

There is a truth that lays behind what I am writing. We don’t know what we don’t know. I might have an idea as to what the final destination might be. As probably you do as well. The truth though is that I don’t know what the next step should be. These days, trials and missteps have led me to understand that I don’t know. There was a time that I did not know that I did not know. Now, I know that I don’t know.

This process continues all through life. U2 came out with the song, “I still haven't found what I am looking for.” I have seen Christian pundits criticize this song, saying that we need to have a place where we land, a truth we can stand upon. And we do, if our faith was simply a punishment avoidance strategy that would be enough. We are called to a journey, our own exodus. Our life in the Spirit, while being grounded in faith, is to remain a process of discovery. While we might find places to rest, we are always called to make the next step.

It remains a process that is led by the Spirit.

Anyway, that is my opinion

You are Loved

        It is a total misunderstanding of the Gospel that has us live in a perpetual state of repentance. The message of the Gospel is that we are loved. It is disturbing how we get this wrong in our lives. Our life in Christ might start out in the darkness. Yes, our journey to the light might have started in utter darkness, a bankruptcy of the heart and soul. There is the moment of realization of regret, this moment of repentance is necessary in order to say goodbye to the darkness. In order to say goodbye to a life that is based on self-will we need to grow sick and tired. We have to understand the degrading and destructive nature of the darkness. We can only do this through understanding what it has done to us, what we have become. We need to understand that who we have become is not who we were intended to be. We were not who we were created to be. We need this need moment so that we do not look back with longing. That moment, often longer, is not where we are to stay. 

        I often think that the hardest aspect of faith is to trust that we are lovable. To believe that what has created us loves us. I also believe that it is not our “wickedness” that God grieves the most. It is our lostness, our belief that God does not love us, that is the source of his mourning. The Gospel is that God’s love was most clearly displayed on a cross millennia ago. That we construe this act of love as being an act of justification for punishing us shows the level of our disbelief that who has spun us into being loves us. 

        Our path of growth is towards being a light unto the world. (Matt 5.14) It is not becoming something or someone who we are not. This is who we were intended to be. Those beliefs and behaviours that have become habits are not, I repeat not, who we are. Our path of growth is gently embracing who we are intended to be. Paul tells us that who we meant to be is obvious. (Galatians 5.22 & 23) We cannot be these if we live a continual apology. We are called to treat those around us, and ourselves, with love, compassion, and gentleness. The ground of this way of being is understanding we are loved beyond measure. It is this experience that draws towards God. It is love that draws us towards being a "new creation." It is coming into joy that moves our feet on the path. It is love that keeps us growing. It is the light of love that attracts others.

        This love also is our compass and guide. When we think we have failed to be who we are, it is love, not fear, that will restore our direction.

You are loved.

Anyway, that is my opinion.

 Speak hope and mercy, speak justice and truth, say what you believe that will heal and help. Now is not the time to be quiet, for there is an ocean of listening all around you,  waiting for the word of life. – Steven Charleston

        If you are of the opinion that the creation story in Genesis is an accurate rendering of events, I have some disappointing news, it isn’t. When we treat this story as the literal truth, we miss the Spirit that moves within its words.
        “And God said…” is one of the key areas where we miss the truth that lies within the words. God, being omnipotent, could have chosen any method of creation, but he chose to use speech. Theologically, this ties in with Jesus being the creative force of God, thus he is the “word.” But there is a deeper significance behind God speaking the world into being.  

  It is often said that people will not remember what you said to them, but how you made them feel. There is some truth to that, but it also sets aside a truth. Those moments of deep regret that I have are based on how I made people feel, always resulted from what I said to them. It is through my words that I can hurt or heal.

The lesson behind God speaking the world into creation, is understanding that we create by what we say. Yes, it is important to listen, people need to be heard. But what we say is equally important. What I say expresses who I am in the world, who I chose to be. It is through what I say to you, that expresses your worth. It is through our words that we create. By choosing well my words I can create beauty.

First, we create for the person to whom we are speaking. Even in the brief encounter with a cashier, or someone we pass by, or hold the door for, we create. Our words can offer a respite from the word around us that seems to be increasingly angry and isolating. Those we meet are all listening for words that let us know that we matter, that we count. When it is us that have spoken those words, it is a blessing.

Secondly, we create for ourselves. Our words also impact us. Especially on those days when we ourselves might be feeling fearful and discouraged. A kind word echoes back like rings on a pond. The response in the person in front of us, creates in us as well. As it has been said, “The world is full of kind people, if you can’t find one, be one.”

We are told that in the beginning God created the world through speech. We are also told that we are created in the image of God. By this, I believe that it is in our ability to create that makes us divine. We now can create by speaking into being hope, mercy, and love. By doing so reminds us that we are not powerless within this world. It is by our words we create.

Anyway, that is my opinion.