“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24
If you had to describe your “faith walk” to someone, what would it look like? Could you whip out a “3-minute testimony?” Would your faith-traditions and beliefs be the same as they were ten years ago? Five years ago? Would you say that your faith walk keeps changing, evolving? I know mine does.
Remember when every influential evangelical believer wore a “WWJD” bracelet or sported “I’m not perfect, just forgiven” bumper stickers? Did your kids attend AWANA or Pioneer Club, and create “wordless books” at VBS? Was “The Purpose Driven Life” on your ‘top ten’ reading list? If you’re grinning because you can relate, then you’ve likely experienced some of the trends and movements that have shaped the evangelical culture.
Perhaps, in your advancing faith walk, you’ve grown more interested in issues such as Calvinism vs. Arminianism, or prosperity teaching vs. self-denial. Or, maybe you’re just at a point where you now seem to have more questions than you did when you began your “faith-journey.”
Not to fret. It’s all a natural part of our ever-changing kaleidoscope of faith. Oh, we’re all still looking toward the same Light, but the pieces inside of our scopes keep turning around and changing shape. Not to mention, my kaleidoscope doesn’t always have the same shapes as yours, which can make it downright sticky doing “Christian Community” together. So, how do we defend the black’s and white’s amidst so many grays? How do we keep from limiting something just by virtue of trying to define it? How do we bridge the chasm of our uniquely different kaleidoscopic views?
By understanding that we don’t understand everything. By exercising grace and love, especially amidst our differences. By simply allowing ourselves to be the selves that Creator God designed us to be. By not focusing so much on the changing trends and climate of Christianity, but rather, looking past them to the same vibrant and welcoming Light at the end of our tubes. And, by allowing ourselves (and others) to wake up to the possibility of new shapes and designs each day, even if some of them unnerve us a bit. It’s okay to question, to challenge, to wrestle, and to doubt. That’s what “faith” is all about.
What trends or movements in our Christian culture might have you a little bit on edge? How can you maintain your focus on what is true, and right, and pure, and praiseworthy?