Living in faith

How often I wonder do we actually listen as Elijah did on Mt Horeb? In today's circumstances I suspect we mix God up with our own consciousness and attempt to do the things that we want to happen rather than what God wants. I can almost guarantee that  I will find myself in conversation today with people who would call themselves Christian yet will speak as if they know not God. It is very easy to do because we are often not centred within God but rather within our own mundane and daily lives. The passage from Galatians is perhaps a reminder to us as to how our actions need to be centred in God rather than in Civil society (Gal 3).

The first part of the passage (Gal, 3.10-14) talks about the law. In reading this we see that the constraints of the Law that was given to Moses in the Covenant in some manner seems to have let the people down and does not lead to a betterment of society or of themselves towards God. If we look at this from a secular point of view we know that obeying the law does not help us with our spiritual lives. Yet, this is ultimately what the following of the law was said to do. Law is something that we have put together to ensure the smooth operating of society. It tells us what should and should not happen. For example, the law from time to time has indicated that certain groups or people within society do not belong. In the days of Christ it was those infected with leprosy or were considered to be possessed (Lk 8.26-39). Even in society today we ostracise people and place them beyond the bounds of society.

Walk the path of faith not the path of popular culture

Even within our religious society we do the same. We need to look only at a recent celebration that involved the cooperation between denominations which was de-railed because the minister from one was not able to minister with a woman priest. The same feeling can be shared when you look at the comments made recently at a Baptist convention regarding parishioners thoughts and women priests. We also only have to look towards the debates regarding the LGBTQ sector or even the xenophobia over those seeking asylum via boats. All of these sectors and many more are blamed, ostracised and banished to the margins of society, often by those who purport a religious point of view. We want laws and more laws in place for people to follow and for society to become stable. Yet, these do nothing towards the building of community. The first Christians moved outwards in faith not in instituionalised religion. They moved with the presence of God deep within their hearts such that they could encompass what Paul expresses in the Galatians correspondence (Gal.3.28).

No matter what the purpose that we have been set is discipleship in God. This means that like Elijah it is the still small voice that we need to be listening to not the raging winds or even the heat of the fire. For us it is the later two that are overwhelming our hearts and minds so that we are incapable of hearing God's voice and leading within our hearts and minds. The central driver for the disciples and for the early faith holders was the presence of God felt and formed within their hearts. It was only later that the divisions of secular life impinged and destroyed the centrality of God. WE remind ourselves of the threefold purpose of our Church to worship God as a community not as individuals in nature, to be of service to our community not just ourselves or those we favour, and to be martyrs (witnesses) to God's love in the world beyond our own selfish needs and wants.