What Happened to Heart?

You often hear the comment, "It's all about faith." Perhaps that prompted James Fowler to write his book, "Stages of Faith". Fowler examines how faith is carried out in the lives of people, in religion and belief. He quotes from Smith, who reminds us that the word credo which is often translated into I believe really means I give my heart to or I hereby commit myself to. Perhaps the shift is subtle. But I do find it a huge difference. Fowler goes so far as to say these linguistic shifts...are causally and symptomatically related to a larger cultural shift...to see faith as belief or a belief system. What happened to the heart?

It's in our heart more than our head that we discern the presence of God. It's in our heart more than our head that we learn the meaning of belief systems. It's in our heart where we find love.

I think part of this shift comes from the scientific revolution that claims to have the ability to prove all truths. We want our faith to be more intellectual, more factual, more documented. Nothing wrong with that until we come to a crisis, when the facts either fail us or fail to lift us, we struggle with disillusionment, and we look for comfort more than answers. This is a time we will understand why it is important to also live by heart, to have that relationship with God, to know he is within.

Let's make our Credo an I give my heart to. Let's not let the present atmosphere of intelligence within the religious community rob us of our personal relationship with God.

Capturing the Truth Within Myself

Recently I caught myself in an exaggerated storytelling moment. Later, I thought about the need to always appear somewhat better than I really am, and I asked myself why? Why is it so difficult to present myself without the hype?

I suspect I am not alone in this dilemma. Somehow, we just don't like to be human, bruised, faulty, imperfect. We somehow think that is unacceptable. Somehow, we think others will think better of us if we present a  picture better than who we really are.

And yet, truth is a lot more compelling, more convincing, more refreshing.

The Truth will set you free says John 8:32. We cannot portray the truth until we first capture it within ourselves. That means leaving off the need to be superior, accepting ourselves in reality, knowing ourselves. It means we must spend a lot of time with ourselves, taking off the rose-colored glasses and looking into the mirror with honesty. It means that we should admit that sometimes we are not okay. Sometimes we need prodding. Sometimes we do act in ways unbecoming and belittling. Yes, we are fragile and made of clay.

Will I ever stop telling exaggerated stories about myself? Probably not. I love the look of disbelief I can bring to another's eyes. But I will also never stop trying to learn the real me, to portray the real me when it is serious and important, and to accept who I really am. For there is no fault in being human. Only in pretending not to be.

Putting Faith to the Test

Believing. Often time when we say we believe, we mean rather that we have been convinced of a truth. It is the convincing that requires time, reflection, meditation, experience. To believe simply by word of month does not produce a believer, but someone unconvinced who accepts things on another's word.

Much of our lack of faith these days stem from this second type of belief. Those who fall by the side of faith, who "give it up" never really had it to begin with. They carried it like a lifesaver in their pocket, used it only when they felt they had a need, and found it got stale and old quickly. So they moved on.

To have faith means to take a truth and pound out of it everything that seems crass. It means to challenge, to put to the test, to argue with it until you are so sure of what you believe nothing can shake you. To do this, you have to study, to ponder, to really immerse yourself and put yourself out. If you are slow to believe, then when you do accept some form of faith, you will be the stronger one. Because you haven't taken it on someone else's words. You have taken it and made it your own.

Followers of The Way

Followers of The Way. That's what early believers called themselves.  It was that simple, it was that hard. But it best told the story.

In our sophisticated day and age, we are wary of such simplicity. And yet, life bears stripping down to the bare bones.  All truth does. Because  the more you elaborate truth, the harder it is to find. And anything that is true can and will come through all stripping.

In our own lives, we do well to find the bare necessities of our belief.  Those are the rock bottom pillars that root us in our life. How do we sort through all the doctrine, theology, and ritual that clutter our faith? It is not easy. But daily meditation, daily reflection, daily prayer will show the way.