Devotional by Angela Smith
September 13, 1998
Daniel Boone was once asked if he was ever lost in the woods. He is reported to have said, "No, but I was a bit bewildered once.
In fact, most of us go through life confused, muddled and bewildered. Look at the headlines and you'll know we're clueless. It's like the sign that I have hanging in my office that reads: "This life is a test. It is only a test. If it had been an actual life, you would have been given instructions on where to go and what to do."
Living life without answers is extremely difficult. To an extent all of us have an unsatisfied childhood need for certainty. Some choose to follow religious paths that give them all the answers. The unswerving conviction exuded by some who claim to be crusaders for Christ can be seductive. If a ministers stands in a pulpit and admits to not being sure or not knowing, that doesn't inspire people to jump up and own and dance in the aisles proclaiming, "Hallelujia, I believe!"
For many Christians, the faith journey includes a conversion process and making a decision for Christ. The fundamentalists say that once one accepts Jesus as one's personal savior, the process of redemption is accomplished and salvation is granted by God. It would seem the work of salvation is finished at this point, and the sinner may not fear anything in the future. It doesn't take long, however, for new converts to realize that even though they are saved, their old sinning selves haven't been vanquished. Baptism may theoretically wash away past sins, but it certainty doesn't prevent future sinning. It may help someone make a new start toward living a better life, but it doesn't perfect the individual.
Some of us look to the Bible for guidance and answers. Whether you believe the Bible is literally true or historically accurate, no one can say the Bible does a complete job of literally explaining how to deal with living in a post-modern technologically driven civilization. While a wonderful source of insight an inspiration, the Bible is hardly the most user-friendly manual for modern living.
Bridging that gap between literal interpretation of the Bible and modern living is a challenge. Some say the solution is to pray on the problem and seek an inner response through your personal relationship with Jesus. The danger with this personal piety is recognizing just who's speaking to you -- is it really Jesus or just the inner voice of your own ego?
Others seek answers or guidance through signs they believe come through divine revelation. Those who believe this are constantly interpreting whatever happens to them as a sign from God.
These experiences, like seeking inner response through prayer, can also be manipulated by the ego's own agenda. No matter how hard we try, we simply cannot escape the uncertainly and self-delusion that are part of life. Tragically, a great amount of suffering results from the struggle to be holy.
When the external solutions break down, the individual is forced to move to a larger and more expansive understanding of his or her faith. This doesn't happen for everyone. Many are quite at home with a faith that provides simple straightforward answers and requires no critical reflection.
Liberal Christians are different. We need a larger faith that is built on critical thinking and taking responsibility for one's life. This kind of faith understands that truth is multi-dimensional. There may be no one answer.
For an individual to grow in this context means gaining an appreciation and cherishing the paradoxes and apparent contradictions of life. Rather than striving to resolve the dissonance, we seek to appreciate it in all its terrifying splendor.
A liberal religious perspective requires us to look past the literal meaning and begin to see the symbolic. Thus the Bible remains true and can continue to illuminate great wisdom.
Living life without answers encourages a lifelong search that has no destination but instead follows an ever expanding path of wisdom. We are only born again as we embrace the adventure of discovery in this quest for truth and meaning.
Blessed are they who doubt and question for as they stumble in their confusion, as they lose their way, as they change their minds, they will ask the questions that will take them to the truth.
Thank you, God, for this community of seekers. We give thanks for a faith that allows doubt, for the courage of adventure that welcomes questions as much as answers, and for the ability to see light even in silent darkness.