Do You Know Why You Believe What You Believe?
church sign
Highway Epiphanies
As I read these words on a church placard the other day, I was able to answer, I do. This realization prompted me to complete this post that has been evolving for months.
I don’t often culminate the words scribbled in my journal into a completed blog post. Sometimes the magnitude of what I am uncovering paralyzes me; how do I condense it into a 2-minute read? So, I keep filling pages and procrastinating. And God keeps me stirred and restless, and I know I can’t keep sitting with all of these ideas bound in my pages.
So, as I read that church sign, I felt compelled to share the abstract version of what could be volumes. As I learn to set aside my preconceived notions and discover anew through openness, I am developing my personal beliefs and finding healing and growth. I choose to treasure hunt in an ancient living book, and as I see it all, as if for the first time, I am learning who God really is and who He created me to be.
Seeking
Often, my discoveries begin with a quiet place, an open mind, a Bible, and a good cup of coffee. And sometimes, it takes a church sign to bring it all together.
(Mark 7:32-35) Along the Sea of Galilee shore, waves ripple against boats, fishermen’s voices penetrate the air as they clean their boats and their catch, while seagulls squabble over the cast-out remains. A growing number of people are pressing in to hear the next word from the man who is causing a stir; maybe see firsthand, a supernatural event. The clamoring of the crowd escalates as someone pushes a man through to Jesus. Amid the chaos, this man hears only the deafening quiet of silence that suffocates him. He was brought here; the only sounds coming from his mouth are the groans of an untamed tongue. He is trapped in the prison of his body, unable to express the emotions deep within, misunderstood, an outcast. And then, Jesus reaches out and leads him away from the crowd.
Jesus as a human with spit and hands; Divinity reaching out. But before the Creator of the universe changed this man’s life in that holy instant, He paused, looked up, and said, “Ephphatha” with a deep sigh. Jesus, in the dirt, feeling his pain, the agony produced by years of ostracism; it was here that He offered healing. Here alone with Jesus, the first uttered syllables that reach this man’s ears come from Jesus’ lips, “Be opened!”
Living Wholly
Ephphatha. Living open, with intention. Willing to identify our stance on ideas, ways of doing, thinking, being, and living. Open to change and discovery. Open to getting alone with Jesus and developing our own beliefs and values. If we spend our lives closed, living as if we have it all figured out, we prohibit growth and grace.
I know “why I believe what I believe” because they are, my beliefs.
More to come…