The Journey Thus Far

My next turn to take morning worship for the staff members is coming up. I'm going to take my life in my hands and try to share a bit of this roller-coaster journey I've been on for the past few years, what I've learned so far. For some of them it may be way out of their frame of reference, which means I may be yet again condemned to the looney bin, for others it may be something they can relate to. But share it I will!

Here are some of the lessons I've learned:

* It's a LONG journey. The only time you're gonna see the end of it is when you reach heaven. The more you go forward, the further back you feel you're sliding - the more you learn, the more you realize you still have to learn.

* Persecution for your faith is not just an end-time tribulation thing. It happens today, now. It's more likely to come from the flock than the wolves.

* Sometimes you have to die to find life. Completely die.

* My journey is not your journey. I respect where you're at - so please respect where I'm at. It's not your place to judge where I'm at, nor mine to judge where you're at. That's God's job. The main thing is that in the end we end up where we belong.

* It's OK to take a break. Your soul will tell you when. But it may be hard to explain what you're doing to the rest of creation.

* You may think you have the answers - until they get challenged by someone who thinks they have the answers. This will send you diving into God's book to find answers, and you'll realize it can be read from an infinite number of angles - they can prove their answers just as well as you can prove yours. It gets confusing, but stick to what you believe and try find out why.

* Yes, time is running out for this planet, and for you, but a journey takes time. Just hope your journey is at a good stage when it all ends! :)

* God's people are not your local clique - they can be found everywhere and in many unexpected forms. Learn to see God in surprising places and embrace His children, no matter what your preconceived perceptions are.

* You are not alone.

* The kingdom of God is not just a future heaven - it's here, it's now and it needs to be lived out every day. It's not something we're hoping and striving for. It's reality.

* Because the kingdom is here, now, we have a duty to be involved in this planet's existance - in its conservation, care and enrichment. That means we don't use, abuse, plunder and waste, with the attitude that "heaven's coming, this earth doesn't matter". It also implies we need to get involved in social justice, in those less fortunate than we are - and there are many of them! - and those who could use some of what we hold tightly-fisted to our chests.

* When you've been letting "the church" make your spiritual decisions, train you, feed you, bring up your kids in kid's classes, etc., it's REALLY hard to start doing that stuff yourself. There's a lot of form-baggage to get rid of, and one can feel really lost! It's jolly hard work....

* "Taking the name of the Lord in vain" has less to do with using God's name as a swear-word, and more to do with calling yourself a Christian, but then not living as one.

(there's more, and I'll update this as I think of them)