Is my faith walk measured by correctness and certainty? Or is it filled with intense need and desire?
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5: 5
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5: 6
None of the above verses from the wisdom of the ancient writings say anything about getting it right or being sure about my thoughts concerning God. As a matter of fact they point to the need to be poor in spirit, to be meek, to hunger for righteousness. I do not have the answers to the mysteries nor will I ever in this lifetime, but there is a way to search for those answers and that searching is in itself the purpose of faith.
Knowing that I just don’t know is sometimes difficult. It is not an inherent human trait to admit that the object of my searching is an undefinable, indescribable, unspeakable mystery which is the driving force in this earthly life. Many men and women have taken a stab at descriptions and definitions, but in the end they fall short of certainty.
But, we do know what a God-driven life produces in our lives. It is love. Not the warm, fuzzy feelings associated with a friend, family member or spouse, but the gut-wrenching compassion for victims of violence, for the hungry and needy, for the financially stressed, for asylum seekers. A God-driven life produces peace makers rather than war-mongers, stewards of the earth rather than exploiters, givers rather than takers.
We can know this as truth because the Spirit (conscience) within says this is right and this is love.
“All we have to do is receive God’s gaze and then return what we have received. We simply complete the divine circuit, ‘love returning love’ as my father St. Francis put it. This is our spiritual agenda for our whole life.” Richard Rohr
Can’t get any simpler than that. Look at God’s gaze (the Spirit within – love) and then return it to God and every other creature on earth. I am a spiritual beggar and wanderer filled with an intense need and desire. This is all I need to know.
lpb - quest 