Devotion - Thursday, January 26

I thought Josh did an excellent job with last night's LCM Program. He shared with us his understanding of the content of Rob Bell's book, Love Wins, It was the kind of program that gets us thinking; perhaps asking more questions than are answered.

In case you aren't familiar with the book (or were not with us last night,) the questions raised by the book have to do with heaven and hell. What are these places/things/concepts and who are the residents of each?

Some of the opinions shared last night were insightful; some were pretty far fetched. All illustrated an important evolution in the life-cycle of a person of faith.

Until faith becomes our own, it lacks the primacy in our lives which it must have if it is going to brace us against the harsh events likely to confront us in the years to come. Until we unpack each theological teaching, examine it, and then re-assemble our own mosaic, doubt will dominate where certainty is desired.

I said last night that faith is a journey. It is a relationship with God that guides us through life and instructs us in our thinking. When faith is reduced to a set of theorems or affirmations it looses it ability to become our own. Dogma and Doctrine are important and essential to the life of the Church and the life of individual Christians. Dogma and Doctrine should not (however) be confused with faith. These things are different.

This is a shout-out to Josh - good job last night. It is more importantly an encouragement for all of us to spend the time contemplating our faith and our beliefs and coming to a clear understanding of what it is that we believe. Much of what we finally affirm will look very similar to what we have been taught - but the process makes it ours, not merely something picked up from someone else.