Christianity, as I have come to see it, is not so much a system of beliefs as it is a path of spiritual growth: A journey of effort, defeat, and redemption.
Having succumbed to original temptation, our hearts are entrapped by the snares of good and evil. And our pilgrimage is nourished by the faith that there is something beyond this trap: a deeper Truth which guides us. A Truth which redeems us every time we fail.
We cannot will ourselves into redemption, as it is our will that got us stuck in the first place. Our lives are driven by constant battles of will: against life, against ourselves, against ourselves in others. We have to lose those battles in order to receive New Life.
Such defeats will always feel a bit like dying. But each of these deaths is, in fact, a victory.
On the other side of defeat, we discover the surprising meaning of "forgiveness of sins". Far from stopping their beats, our hearts soften and bloom in the warmth of insight: All have sinned, and all are redeemed. No one is perfect, and everyone is safe.
When this happens, our struggle itself has been turned into manure for the fertile fields of the Kingdom. Freed from our jailed selves, we can finally allow ourselves to relax. To hand all guidance to the Spirit and simply sink into the Living Waters.
Having succumbed to original temptation, our hearts are entrapped by the snares of good and evil. And our pilgrimage is nourished by the faith that there is something beyond this trap: a deeper Truth which guides us. A Truth which redeems us every time we fail.
We cannot will ourselves into redemption, as it is our will that got us stuck in the first place. Our lives are driven by constant battles of will: against life, against ourselves, against ourselves in others. We have to lose those battles in order to receive New Life.
Such defeats will always feel a bit like dying. But each of these deaths is, in fact, a victory.
On the other side of defeat, we discover the surprising meaning of "forgiveness of sins". Far from stopping their beats, our hearts soften and bloom in the warmth of insight: All have sinned, and all are redeemed. No one is perfect, and everyone is safe.
When this happens, our struggle itself has been turned into manure for the fertile fields of the Kingdom. Freed from our jailed selves, we can finally allow ourselves to relax. To hand all guidance to the Spirit and simply sink into the Living Waters.
Beautiful.
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