Faith As A Way Of Life Vs. A System Of Belief

Faith could be described as more of a “moving away” from a system of belief to a way of life. Christ is constantly calling us all out of complacency to a radical way of life where He can reign in us and through us. Spiritual life might be considered a “way” rather than a dissemination of facts and information that categorize a belief system to label our own personal worldview.

3 important metaphors used by Jesus in the New Testament are Kingdom, Yoke, and Path. Could it be that the journey of faith with God is a walk where we never truly arrive at a destination while here on earth? Could Paul’s message be a call to a new way of life which is characterized by reconciliation with God, one another and all of creation in a global community?

A new way of life as an alternative to the way of Empire was certainly an attractive proposition for first century Christ followers. Are we willing to learn a new art form in partnership with our brothers and sisters and the Holy Spirit? Can we handle the ugly side of authentic Christian community while we learn to love one another in the process? Jesus has certainly set the bar high.

Has the Christian religion developed its own individual tastes for the truth spreading across hundreds of different denominations which all utilize the Bible as their foundation? We, as Christians must be careful not to defend the exclusive “rightness” of our particular flavor of doing church. Can we develop
a new way of holding traditions that allows for the sharing of spiritual practices in an effort to strive for unity in the love of God so we can focus on loving one another?

The world has changed. The time has finally arrived that we must realize we will never be able to sew up all the mysteries of God into a tight, neat package. Let
us come together and focus on transforming ourselves through love so we can transform the world for Christ when they see our unity.

RC