Gears of Faith

For the past several days, the intersection outside of my Seminary in Washington DC has been complete gridlock in the afternoon. Just down the street, they are working on some trees, electric poles, and some other major construction that has the road reduced to one lane. As we were praying evening prayer the past two days, the multiple car horns of frustration could be heard.

This lead me to consider an analogy that relates to my own current faith journey "rest stop" so to speak. There have been many things on my mind concerning faith and my engagement with it. When the street mess collided with my own thoughts, I began to picture my faith journey as an automobile.

Am I in "Park"? Have I been idling or is the car even on? I see this part of the faith journey as just following the rules with little to no risk. Conversely, this also means there is little to no reward. As Christians, we may have to "park" for a brief time but we are asked to do something with Faith.

Am I in "Reverse"? Am I traveling away from God? Sometimes I can find myself in a cycle of self-doubt and even self-hatred. Can God really forgive for the faults of my life? Those thoughts can be very overwhelming and make you feel as I you are all alone. This can be a torturous time. If you find yourself here, talk about it with someone. It could be the source of a great faith renewal.

Am I in "Neutral"? Just revving the engine? My faith engine can sound really good if I say the right things and appear to do the right things. However, in Neutral, you are not really going anywhere. The appearance of doing good can lead you to judge others, lead to boasting, or even using the gifts of God in a negative manner. Why waste all that energy sitting in neutral?

"Drive", Faith Engaged. Go forth with the Lord, trusting in Him for all your needs, worries, and concerns. Look for the signs of faith along the way to be sure that you are going in the right direction. You can take a retreat and rest for a time, all saints-in-training do that to regain their strength. But, keep your faith-car pointing towards the Lord in the direction towards heaven. This journey will be easier once you are pointed on the Way of the Lord. AMEN