The Outskirts of His Ways

June 15, 2015

This morning at breakfast, Linda was not her usual perky self, so I asked her what was going on. Reassuring me that it was nothing between us, she thought for a moment and began expressing some faith questions she's been pondering lately. People often have the mistaken impression that being a Christian means having all the answers and living undisturbed by the vicissitudes of life. For the record, that's just not so. I know Christians who act as if they live on a higher plane than the rest of  us, but I wouldn't put much stock in them. So Linda was feeling a bit off her game, and not at all happy about it.

My initial response probably wasn't very compassionate: "Welcome to my world!" I wish I felt God's presence more than I do, that I could wake up each morning filled with excitement and joy, and finish each evening in peace. But I don't live in a world of feelings. Sometimes the language we use in Christian conversation confuses me. We talk about having a personal relationship with Christ, but what exactly does that mean? I know what it means to be in relationship with my wife, and I know it's not always sweetness and light, but we are just as much married when we are mad at each other as when we're happy together. Of course, it is much more pleasant in the happy times and thankfully, much more frequent.

So I don't always know what having a personal relationship with Christ means, but I do know what it means to follow him. He was very clear about that. Among other things, it involves denying oneself and carrying a cross. There is much about God and life that I don't understand. But if I understood everything about God, I would be God, a prospect no one would relish. I understand that God is loving and merciful, forgiving and wise. After our breakfast conversation I read from Job 26:14, where Job speaks of the wonders of creation then says, "These are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small of a whisper do we hear of him." That I don't understand God doesn't bother me. It is enough that he understands, and loves me.