The Hope on the Other Side

Every time I post I intend to start posting daily, or at least weekly, and then another frenzy of activity attacks. So it has been this past month. Our Fall Retreat, followed by Upward Evaluation Week ("Hell Week"), followed by my Master's Class, followed by Thanksgiving Vacation... so maybe I could have blogged during vacation, but anyways.

In the mean time; meaningful discussions have continued, new conversations have emerged, hope continues to develop and I see light at the end of my tunnel more each day. I am even more up to date on your blogs (those of my friends and fellow travelers) than I have ever been, thanks to Eric S. making me aware of bloglines.com (Gloria a Dios'!).

As I read through what we are all writing, as I note the common threads, as I sort through our often pessimistic perspective I truly see hope emerging. I see God raising up a new breed of believers. I see Him forming a fellowship of followers who value the things Jesus taught us to value, and are seeking new ways of living this out together, whether we are in the same town or separated by state lines. I see God re-fashioning the image of a "Christian" and of "Christian Living" in our collective mind, and I take great joy in adding and subtracting to that image every time I read many of your thoughts. Most of all, I look forward to the day when our discussion and language can focus more on what our lives do look like, and less on what they shouldn't look like. I anticipate a day when the cynicism and criticism gives way to inward (or even communal) reflection, and optimistic discussion of what God is leading us into, rather than the negative vibe that focuses on what He is leading us out of.

Yet... I know we still have a ways to go, or at least I do. I know that I have much more to complain about, much more to deconstruct, much more to work through and flesh out, many more Pat Robertson comments to appalled by, several more Republican guilt trips to be annoyed by, numerous paradoxes in the lives of Christians I see and the gospel they claim to follow that will drive me crazy, and an untold number of other issues that will tick me off to the point that I feel the need to blog (or journal) about it.

My Hope: I know the Gospel promises joy, peace and life to the fullest for those who love Christ, so I know that is what lies on the other side of all this. I don't want to settle for the counterfeit version of this "life to the full". So, I journey on through this passage in our lives in great anticipation of what is ahead.