The Christian life is an explosion!
2008-07-09I was talking with Bryan, and this walked out of my mouth. He really liked it and insisted that I should write it down. So, here goes.
When we talk about the Christian life, we usually think of a single path that we are all walking. As Christians, we share this path, and we help each other stay on the path, as we walk towards our destination. This is a true metaphor, but I think that there’s another way to look at this.
The Christian life is an explosion of light, starting at the center and radiating out in all directions. Each of us are called to follow a different ray of light outwards into the darkness. Now, we all participate in the source of the explosion, but we’re also traveling in very different directions.
This is okay.
In fact, this is good. And, it is vitally important to understand.
So much of our understanding of Christian unity is based on the idea that we will slowly change to become like each other. I think that, rather, our Christian unity is based on the idea that we will slowly embrace each other as we pursue the same God differently.
At one point, I would have fretted about all the denominations in the Church. “This is an attack on Christian unity!” I would have said. Now, I shrug without concern. Are these denominations learning to embrace each other as we pursue the same God differently? Then I’m cool with it. Indeed, let’s have more denominations that work this way! Let’s push out into all the different ways that we can be followers of Christ and put all of them on display before God and man!
This also affects what it means to be a leader in the Church. The job of the elder is to equip Christians for the work of ministry. But what is that work? What ray of light is he following? Because each Christian has a different calling, an elder must work on equipping them differently, perhaps even in opposite ways.
Bonus James Jordan reference: This seems to fit with Jordan’s insistence that life is cruciform, radiating out to the four corners of the world.
I came across this verse while reading Proverbs, and it seemed to fit here:
“A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?” (Proverbs 20:24)
I like your version of the “Big Bang” theory! Thanks!
‘…we pursue the same God differently.’ I like it.
Uh oh, Seth, your Dad doesn’t sound very Presbyterian anymore. Better burn him at the stake.