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Where are
you on your spiritual journey?
Everyone seems to be on one, a spiritual
journey that is. No matter what stage
of life you may find yourself, being spiritual
or having a spiritual quality in your life
is almost an expected element. Or,
is it?
In the middle of the 20th century,
C. S. Lewis once wrote, The difficulty
of converting an uneducated man nowadays
lies in his complacency…There are no distant
horizons, no mysteries. On the
other hand, it appears that whether educated
or not, people in the early stages of the
21st century are the opposite
of what Lewis observed. People today
are anything but complacent. Their
horizons are filled with mysteries.
Everyone from professional athletes to politicians
all seem to have a spiritual component
about their lives. It is not uncommon
to read about or hear individuals talking
about a spiritual experience that they have
had. In fact, the concept of spiritual
is frequently attached to the word experience,
thus making it a little difficult to comprehend
what one means by “spiritual.”
The term spiritual seems to be used vaguely
enough (by today’s society) that at one
in the same time each person gives the impression
that he knows exactly what you mean by what
you said while at the same time never bothering
to ask what did you mean by what
you just said! After all, there’s
something almost profound about talking
about how spiritual you are… There’s a certain
air, even a mystical aura that one gives
off when he or she talks about his or her
spirituality. But let’s say, just for the
sake of argument, that we all do know what
each person means when they speak of their
spirituality. What then? Is
it sufficient enough just to have spoken
about it, to say that you have had a spiritual
experience?
One of the great historical figures in church
history, Augustine, has said that in the
heart of each man and woman there is a God-shaped
vacuum that must be filled. New Age
philosophy would teach us that each one
of us is a “god.” We each have god-like
tendencies. But that’s not what Augustine
meant. His reference was as a human
being, we come to realize that something
is missing in our lives. We have therefore
a hollowness about our lives. What
makes it hollow is the recognition that
in our humanness we are not quite complete.
We then go on a journey to search for what’s
missing. All along God is there
waiting for us to discover Him rather than
a non-entity called a “spiritual experience.”
The Bible does speak of things “spiritual.”
Paul, a New Testament apostle, once wrote:
Now we have received, not the spirit
of the world, but the Spirit who is from
God, that we might know the things freely
given to us by God, which things we also
speak, not in words taught by human wisdom,
but in those taught by the Spirit, combining
spiritual thought with spiritual words.
Yes, you can travel on your own journey
seeking spiritual contentment. But
if you really want to resolve your spiritual
quest, than the place your journey ought
to lead you is to the presence and person
of God. Not just any god mind you,
but the God of the Bible. The one
who created the universe. The one
who created you. The one who loves
you enough that he sent His own son to die
for you so that your spiritual journey can
end in peace, not in a vague state of spiritual
experience.
This God provides the only answer to your
spiritual journey’s destination. In
fact the Bible says He is your destination.
Jesus, God’s son, said, “I am the way, the
truth and the life, no man can come to the
Father but through me.” Yes, according
to Jesus, your spiritual journey should
be an exclusive one. In other words,
the only spiritual journey that will
give you peace is the one which starts with
Jesus and ends with God. True peace
can only be had with knowledge and acceptance
of biblical truth. And biblical truth
points your journey in the direction of
Jesus Christ, the one who is not only the
son of God, He is God.
There is a certain paradox about this biblical
journey though. The reason man struggles
to be spiritual is that in and of himself,
he has no capability for spiritual peace.
The reason is quite simple, we are all sinners.
No matter how you define the term (the Bible
tells us that a sinner is someone (everyone!)
who has offended a holy God), sin keeps
us all on an uneven keel as we navigate
our spiritual journey. It not only
interferes with spiritual progress, it makes
our journey spiritually nauseous.
As long as our personal sin is present and
not dealt with, our spiritual journey will
continue to go in circles…never coming to
a peaceful resolution.
But there is a way to find some help.
Help is found with those who have discovered
the biblical path of our spiritual journey.
Again, the apostle Paul has written, “Brethren
(fellow Christians), even if a man is caught
in any sin, you who are spiritual, restore
that one in a spirit of gentleness…”
None of us are without sin. It’s just
that some, by the grace of God, have discovered
God’s great provision of forgiveness of
sin. That provision is what Jesus
Christ did for us by dying on a wooden cross
about 2,000 years ago. When he died,
the blood that came from his body became
the basis of peace for us in our life and
spiritual journey. That may sound
strange, but listen to Paul again.
“…and through [Jesus we have] peace through
the blood of the cross…”
So what makes more sense, a non-descript
“spiritual experience” that still leaves
you with no goal on your journey; or, a
spiritual journey that starts with Jesus
and ends with God? There’s no peace
and no resolution for your sin-problem without
God. And, there’s only a vacuum left
in your heart if you avoid the path He would
have you follow. Which journey have
your chosen? If you’re still wandering
aimlessly in your spiritual quest, stop
and let Jesus and his cleansing blood not
only take care of your sin, but give you
a peaceful path to the goal of spending
an eternity with him and his Father.
The answer to the quest for your spiritual
journey starts and ends with Jesus Christ.
God became man and lived on the earth in
the person of Jesus. Jesus lived a
perfect life and offered his life
as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
Sin has always been the problem in our journeys.
It prevents us from knowing God. It
keeps us from developing obtaining peaceful
resolutions with people in our spiritual
journey. But God has provided a simple
solution to the interruptions in our journey.
Simply put, all you need to do is speak
to God in prayer. For example, pray
words like the following: "Jesus, I know
you love me. In fact you love me so
much you died for me. I realize that
your death and your shed blood is the only
answer to the problem of my sin. I
confess all of my sin to you. I ask
you to forgive me of my sin. And by
faith, I trust Jesus as my personal Savior."
God will not only hear your prayer, He looks
forward to hearing you pray!
If you are still not sure what it means
to start and end your spiritual journey
with Jesus, please contact us. You
can either use the email provision of our
website, or call us at
610-933-6225.
We promise to either answer your call or
return your message.
Pastor Keith Megilligan
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