To Humbly Walk

In the Book of Acts when Paul and Silas are asked by their jailor what he must do to be saved the answer is simple. They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31 Though the translation consistently reads “believe” trust seems to be a better fit.

In the letter to the Romans, Paul seems to clarify this sentiment. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 To reference the Greek text, “confess” is more akin to declaring allegiance. Think of the term “Confession of Faith.”

In Romans, he goes on to clarify even further. “For one believes with the heart, leading to righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation.” Romans 10:10 To trust with the heart, is to have faith as described in the letter to the Hebrews. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Our pluralistic society which stresses rationality above all else has relegated faith to simple being a set of ideas. In our efforts to reduce life to that which can be quantified and measured, spirituality is simply a matter of neuro pathways. One can believe, but one needs to attend to the realities of life.

Spiritual principles are good to live one’s life by as long as one doesn’t go to extremes. These principles serve an evolutionary need. Society simply works better if altruistic values as espoused.

Trust is deeper than faith. Trust is taking that step onto a bridge that you have faith that it will hold your weight. This is the idea behind James writing, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:17) If what we believe does not change how we live do we really believe it?

To be Christian is a personal matter. Yes, our expression of faith should make a visible difference in our lives. It is still a personal matter as to how our faith gets worked out in our lives. A good friend of mine seeks personal purity. He seeks to be in the world and not of the world. He eschews much of modern media and entertainment, so that he might contemplate “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable.”

A friend of a friend has seen the call of faith to meet Christ in those who we consider the least. He has dedicated himself to feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless. He cares passionately about the marginalized and disenfranchised. He swears like a trucker and smokes like a chimney. (Why is it that swearing is always associated with truckers?)

Meanwhile, I live out the Lutheran sentiment of “sin boldly.” I also swear like a trucker, or perhaps fisherman. My mission in life is to lead people into relationship with God. There are some who have told me that I have opened the door to faith for them. This blog is part of that mission.

I have done my time providing service and advocacy for various people. These days I am content to study biblical languages; so far only Greek, next year I start Hebrew. While I might have retired, I am not yet done living in service.

We all have our mission, our “mission dei.” Each of us were created to bring the presence of God into our lives and the lives of people around us. How you live out your faith, your trust, is through the leading of the Holy Spirit. And, we are not meant to live identical lives. For some I would be an irritant, for others I am an inspiration. This is the idea behind Paul writing. “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Cor 12:27) And,  ^“For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” (1 Cor 12:14)

So be bold and be confident in who you are to the world. For you can be salt and light to those I cannot.

This will let you know how long this has been in the planning.

As I sit and start to plan this blog, there is a walk for peace happening in the country to my immediate south. A group of Buddhist monks are walking from their monastery in Fort Worth Texas to Washington DC. Everywhere they go thousands of people come out to greet them. Millions, if not billions, of people worldwide are watching this proceed. I love that they have a dog! A rescue dog! Aloka is a stray dog from India.

The question that I have, for myself and other Christians, is “Why is that not us?” Seriously! Why are Christians not doing a walk for peace? For me it is a profound failure of our claim to follow Christ that we are not doing so ourselves. This is not about competition with the Buddhists. It is an observance that our faith often does not make it out the church doors.

The love and respect and dignity for humanity that these monks are portraying are the heart of Christianity. Consider, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7.12 Or consider “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13.10 As a Christian, I am to be defined by my love for others.

So many Christians these days seem angry. It is as though we intrinsically know that we have lost with the “Culture Wars.” Yet, we are not able to articulate how or why we have lost. We don’t even know what we have lost. We have been so busy shaking our bibles as the inerrant word of God yelling at other people that they are wrong. We have lost the essence of what it means to be Christian.

We have decried homosexuality and transgenderism and any sexuality that is not heteronormative. We have protested abortion. We have struggled to maintain the sanctity of marriage. We have done this to “win” the culture wars. We have not done this out of love or respect. We have not held the other person in dignity. We have done this to be right. We have made political movements out of our causes. And we have lost our faith.

I have contended for a long time that the world does not need to know it is sinful. Most of us know intimately the times we have failed to be a decent human being. The world needs to know it is loved. You need to know you are loved. That you are valuable and desired. You need to know that your essence is good and pure and innocent. You might not live in that truth, but it is your intended essence.

I am reminded of Paul’s words. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” We have forgot to love. Our message to the world has not been one of love. We need to change.

I am not into copying the actions of others. That is to say that I am not proposing a “peace walk.” I am suggesting that we begin to walk humbly. I am suggesting that we let whoever is in front of us know that they are loved and that they are valued.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us that we must be complete in our love. (Matt 5:48) The perfection he talks of is about completion. It is about inclusion. We are defined by our love. If we love only those who love us, how does that distinguish us? If we greet only those who are our friends, what is different about us? The world tells us, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” He tells us, “Love your enemies and pray for those who malign you.” (Matt 5:43 & 44 paraphrased)

Where do we, where do I, begin. The first is to experience the love of God. When I read the parables of Jesus, I am reminded repeatedly how valued you and I are. The other first step is to love those who are in front of us. The love of God is relational. It is experienced in our interactions with other people.

We can, and often do, experience the love of God on our own in prayer. Yet, it is within the context of relationships that we experience the profound love of God in the most profound ways. What I am writing about is the divine conspiracy of love. The love of God can only truly be experienced by participating within it. We begin with where we stand. The first step is to realize that we are loved and are meant to love in response.

While a walk for peace is commendable. The true miracle is the love that these monks have for the world around them. What is profound is that after this is all over, when the publicity subsides, they will continue to walk in love. In that, we should emulate them. The walk for peace may appear to be a single event, but it is actually a daily occurrence.

Walk in love. Greet the stranger. Help others when we can. Comfort the down hearted. Be with the grieved. Walk in love. God will walk with you.

To Humbly Walk

What an audacious name for a blog space! This is not a boast. I aspire to walk humbly. There are days, most, when I fail miserably. There are days where I don’t suck so badly. Every so often, I manage to get my act together. The name of this space comes from the verse that defines Christian spirituality as I see it.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

The goal of my walk with God is to “do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with him.” It has been an interesting journey to get here. I would not hold my life out as an example of how to live one’s faith. Yet, in spite of all my foibles, follies, and false steps, or maybe because of them, I think I have something to say.

The plan for this blog is to meander through the Sermon on the Mount. If I do one post a week on each verse, I will have just over two years of blogging. Yet, I did say meander. There will be side trips and times that I will digress to pursue an idea. When I reach the end of the Sermon, I will figure out what next to do. Depending on readership, I might even develop some swag.

There will be times that I will repeat blog posts from previous blogs. Some have suggested that I do podcasts. That holds little appeal to me. Besides it being a significant amount of work, I think it is better to read. In reading one is able to pause and reflect. Listening to podcasts invariably lead to me having to rewind to listen a second time. Reading is less complicated.

The Sermon on the Mount seems to me to be the embodiment of what it means to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with God. It is not my intention to “deconstruct” Christianity as this has become trendy. Rather, I want to explore what Christianity is meant to be by exploring the teachings of the one we worship.

By doing a post a week, and focusing on one verse per week, I have my agenda for the next two years. Of course, me being me, will go off on tangents. So who knows how long this will last. So welcome to my blog space.

I am always open to questions, comments, and criticisms. I can be reached through my email address: drew@tohumblywalk.com