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 ...

The Kingdom of God is not my dysfunction.   The Kingdom of God is not my refusal to admit I was wrong. The Kingdom of God is not my bent to do the opposite of what I set out to do. The Kingdom of God is not about me. It is easy to want something; it is another thing to obtain it. In the life we live in th is  fast-paced and consumer driven modern  world, our wants and needs become conflated. I mistake what I  desire  for what I need. I need water, food, sunlight, community, and l ove. I  don’t  necessarily need a larger TV,  the latest smart device, or the latest status symbol that our culture  uses  to signify  what success is.  I realize that  the  wants  that  I think I need  are  to make myself feel better about my defects. Status symbols can  perhaps hide  my disappointment in my wasted oppo rtunities that  I’ve  squandered.  Smart devices and endless scrolling can dis...