"Finding Our Way"

New life has a way of really exciting us. It makes the even quietest person among us want to tell someone. It is the kind of call that makes waking up at 3 AM a positive joy. This joy is not something that fades away with time. Even when the baby has grown to adulthood they are still one of the main topics of parent and grandparent conversation, often illustrated with copious pictures from a stash in their wallet or purse.

When a child is baptized this is new life as well. Whole extended families show up to share the joy of that new birth. In our Baptism God embraces us as beloved children and gives us the precious gift of his presence through the Holy Spirit. That is the key to a new life in God. A life that gives us meaning and purpose beyond what we could hope for ourselves.

Although our Baptism is exciting for others, when an infant is baptized it is not an event that they will remember forever. If you are like me it is something that happened that you have been told about and then think little of, until for some strange reason someone needs to see your Baptismal Certificate. Then, for me, it was and all out search for a document I had never seen. It is amazing how easy it is to loose or ignore the new life that God gave us when we were baptized. We place this most precious gift in another's care, trusting that they will be faithful and help us discover the true treasure that God has given us.

Many times this trust is entirely forgotten, but more often the trust is entirely forgotten, but more often the trustee will make sure that the child attends confirmation. Confirmation is a commitment to search for that new life. But often, by the time someone is ready to be confirmed they may have drifted a long way from the true life in God that was the promise of our heavenly Father in baptism.

Both Baptism and Confirmation are merely portals to the true life that God has promised. These milestones do not generate the excitement that accompanies new life. It is the discovery of the presence of God by each individual as the mature spiritually that creates the passion within us and makes us want to share it with others. This search for our place in the life of God is the essence of spirituality. It is an individual's search for new life, a new life that can only be found in the heart of God. It is a search that takes place within us as we try to discover who God has created us to be. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
(Ephesians 2:10)
This introspection is not merely self-awareness. It is also the conscious connection with God's gift of the Holy Spirit we received at our baptism. The search also looks outside ourselves as we see the Christ in other people and the witness of the saints of God throughout history.

These are parts of our search we encounter in our daily lives, and many people look no further, but there is a mystical element to our search for our new life in God as well. God through the Holy Spirit is still speaking to the people of God if we take the time to listen.

God's voice can take many forms, but is always consistent with the truth revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. That makes the most important part of anyone's spirituality the study of Jesus. True spirituality forms around a central core. The elements of this core are God's Person, God's People, God's Purpose and God's power.

God's person - Christian Spirituality is first and foremost about God. Christianity is not a religion based on rules and regulations it is a love affair with God through Jesus Christ. It is this encounter with God in Christ that reveals God to us in the fullest way possible. It is also the primary element of our Spiritual growth. God loves us as we are, but God loves us too much to leave us that way. To seek God's presence in your life is to invite change.

God has chosen to relate to us as the Children of God. Like a child grows up to look like their parents we as the children of God grow up into the image of God. If we look at ourselves honestly we can easily see that we are not yet full formed into the image of God. That all by itself points out the necessity for the growth and change that can threaten us so much.

God's people - A relationship with God means you have a relationship with God's people. Distinctively Christian spirituality is formed by the life in community. We are the children of God. It looks pretty bad if we don't associate with one another. Jesus himself said you would know his disciples by their love for one another. We are also called to make disciples of all people. If we don't disciple our children and new members of our fellowship who will? We are called to be a people of God. That means that what we do for God we do together.

God's purpose - God has a plan that will restore all of creation into a right relationship with him. As our lives are changed it influences the lives of others around us. God is still active in our world bringing hope and healing to anyone who is in need. God's will and God's power are connected.

As we align our lives with God's will the power of the Holy Spirit is more evident in our lives. Christianity is a relationship with God. Spirituality is finding God and yourself in this loving relationship . Without God we can do nothing, for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (NRS Philippians 2:13) Finding our new life in God is an exciting thing. It reveals the giftedness God has given us in our Baptism and draws ever deeper into Gods purpose. When you finally start to live the life God created you for you understand that God is really there for you. Once that happens you will never think about spirituality in terms of duties or philosophies again.

Pastor Jim Bliss