The Ancient Paths

It is hard to see in the dark. Most people would agree with me about this. When there is no light to  see,  we  must  incor porate our other senses to get where we need to go:  touch, smell, etc.  As we grope in the dark, we hope to find the exit to where the light is.  However, the process of being unaware of where we are or how we are to get where we are going is truly frustrating and a little scary.    In many ways our interaction with God is like this. It is like  being in  a dark room where we cannot see the way forward unless we use our other se nses that are sharper in the absence of sight.  This other sense is like faith; we can put our fingers around God s o-to-speak , but it  is n’t  with our hands. Our interactions are  innately  spiritual;  there is no physical dimension to this sensing. God is spirit and not made of the same stuff that we are.  We feel God, but it is often like a cool ...

I think that all of us eventually come to the realization , even if it’s a thought that blinks on and off quickly through our minds,   is that this world isn’t what it should be. Even if comfort and ease make up a large portion of our lives, we have a gnawing suspicion that deep down, things must be better than this. Unless we are completely numb and slightly (or not so slightly) sociopathic, we can clearly see suffering all around us. For a lot of us suffering and loss have significantly formed our lives. We live in its shadow, like a house built on the side of a mountain . People have called life a “veil of tears ”, and no matter how much scientific advancement or human ingenuity is at play, all our lives are affected by the brokenness in the world. This brokenness in turn shatters us, and no matter what veneer we cover our defects with, they are still present rotting under the surf ace.   We don’t like talking about our brokenness; it’s taboo to highlight o...