My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”[1] -Thomas Merton
I ended my post on Why I Believe in a Loving Creator with these questions:
- Where did a loving God give us answers to our greatest questions about origin, meaning, morality, and destiny?
- I suggested that an honest seeker might start with the five major world religions, but then asked “which one?”[2]
Although a reasonable faith is very important to me, I have not relied on my intellect alone to answer these questions.
Working as a carpenter has taught me well the truth spoken by the great theologian, Clint Eastwood: “A man’s got to know his limitations.” Ok, maybe Clint isn’t a theologian but his words underscore the sheer folly of the idea that humans can figure things out without any help from God. In other words, experiencing our profound limitations drives us to seek answers outside ourselves. And, although many might wish more had been said about Christ specifically in the prayer above, Merton is honest about our limitations, capacity for self-deception, and need to throw ourselves wholly on the mercy of God.
Even though I’ve done my fair share of study, it’s honestly an unseen hand that’s led me to a place of serenity and seeing Christianity and the Bible as the best answers to the questions above. But what ultimately leads a person to see Jesus as the only way to God, and the Bible as God’s Word? It’s certainly beyond our capacity here to answer these questions well, and each person’s journey to Christ is different.[3] There may be many roads to Jesus even if there is only one way to God (John 14:6; 1 Pet. 1:21). As a Christian minister, I’ve come to see the cross as the center of Christianity, further evidence of a loving God, and the gateway at the end of “the many roads to Jesus.”
I resonate with what the Apostle Paul said 2000 years ago to a group of spiritual seekers:
“… that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for, ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’” (Acts 17:27-28)
I don’t believe, however, that anyone will ever “feel their way” toward God and “find him” without God first opening his or her eyes, revealing truth, and drawing that person to embrace Christ (Jn. 6:44a). This is consistent with what is taught in the gospels when Peter makes his well-known confession: “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16- ESV) When Peter said this, Jesus was quick to point out that God was responsible for Peter’s embrace of truth, not human agency: “Blessed are you . . . for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 16:17- ESV).
If we are to have an “aha” moment like Peter, God must turn the light on. Only he can shatter our darkness and change our desires. If He does not both initiate and complete the work for this to happen, we will never “find him.” When it comes to faith, grace is essential. I agree with Bono on this:
“You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that ‘as you reap, so you will sow’ stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff… I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I’d be in deep s—. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.”[4]
In the mysterious “game” of life, with Grace as the catalyst, I’ve pushed all my chips in front of God. I’m all in and everything is on Jesus. Although I have a heart that’s pone to wander and a propensity, like the Apostle Peter, to deny Jesus with my words and actions, I resonate with his famous statement to Jesus in John 6:68:
“…Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God.” (NLT)
Yes, I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I stand with Peter and echo this apt description of what all disciples mean when they embrace his great words above:
“They know that the presence that has called them is dependable and that while they may be insecure, volatile, and easily capable of betrayal, forgetting and running away, what they confront in the person they call Rabbi and Master is one who will not go away.”[5]
[1]Thomas Merton, Thomas Merton: Spiritual Master, (Paulist: Mahwah), 243.
[2] The five major religions of the world are Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.
[3] The resources that have helped me the most in answering these questions are Why I Believe in a Personal God by George Carey, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, The Unknown God by Alister McGrath, The Prodigal God by Tim Keller, and Scripture and the Authority of God by N.T. Wright.
[4] http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/augustweb-only/bono-0805.html
[5] Rowan Williams, Being Disciples (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016), 26.