Preparing to Meet the Real Me

People in our community will soon be discovering "the real me" in the eyes of God, via a resource called The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg. In preparation for that, the following prayer by Thomas Merton seemed appropriate:

"My Lord God, I do not know where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you actually does please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."

In the name of Jesus, amen. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

An Adventure, Not A Safety-Net

I heard a really good question this morning. "If being a Christian doesn't solve all my problems and make my life perfect, why would I want to be one?" First, this is a good observation. As much as the faith is sometimes marketed as nothing more than a quick fix for what ails you, that's not what it was for the first Jesus followers. Many of them faced unbelievable hardships while staying true to their commitment to Jesus.

Second, though, what is our motivation? Jesus does offer the relationship for which we are designed. All that separates us from God is forgiven and erased, and we look to an eternity with God. We get the strength and encouragement to deal with the ups and downs of life, anchored in the One who died and rose for us. All of this is true.

There's another motivation, though, that gets overlooked. We get to be a part of the adventure of a lifetime! I believe God has placed a hunger in us for quest, challenge, and epic journeys. Unfortunately, we've domesticated all that. We too often decide that the goal of life is sheltered safety, and we've boxed in and redefined faith in Jesus to support that. However, ours is a tale of great adventurers and risk-takers, from Paul to St. Francis of Assisi, to Martin Luther, to John Wesley, to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and more. Following Jesus is not about safety. It's about joining God in the adventure of a lifetime - the battle for the heart and soul of humanity.

What adventure will you and I pursue for and with God in 2011?

(Recommended reading on this, especially for men: Wild at Heart and Waking the Dead - both by John Eldridge, and The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus)

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.