Category: Spiritual journey (Page 1 of 3)

Jesus says I am the truth. What a statement. I mean I can tell the truth, I can try and live in truth or be truthful. But to say I am the truth implicates a lot more then that. Thinking about it makes me wonder if being the truth simply means there is no false in him. Or perhaps when you get Jesus you get the real thing, not just some self appointed guru. There were no tricks or manipulation coming from him. He didn’t  attempt to control the masses or the individuals to get them on his side. His story makes no sense when you think of the terms of building a church or organization. It is an invitation to follow and to journey through life with the truth… that is setting us free from our way of seeing things, peeling away the filters of our own perception and interpretation of truth.

Jesus was the revelation of truth. “you see me , you see the Father (God)”. False images of what we think the Father is peal away as we discover and walk with Jesus, or as Jesus is the way we are walking in…

The ultimate questions in life are: “where do I come from? Where do I go after this?  What am I doing here? We all answer these questions different and most people in this world avoid them all together. All the religions try to answer it. Interesting Jesus didn’t invite us into a religion or a system of belief but called us to himself. He didn’t say this is the way to go, here is the truth you need to know and then you will have life if you follow it.

Over the years quite a number of people told me that Jesus was a great teacher and enlightened but not God (or they would then say we are all god). The thing is,  Jesus made it very clear about who he is and also who and where we are. That he is God and that we are disconnected from the truth. This statement about being God also got him killed. If he was lying about that. Everything he said would be judged in the light of that and make him kind of a lunatic. So either it is true or it is a lie.

Being on the journey with Jesus is much more then just about learning truth and understanding. It is about coming to awareness of our own state and the lies we live and move on to be free. Jesus said the truth will set you free. What he ultimately means is that he himself will set us free. This freedom does not come because I am a better person or know more “secrets” of life etc. I believe that freedom comes by actually knowing who I am in God’s eyes (God sees my innermost being) and by seeing who God really is (a revelation that might never be complete) .

Walking with Jesus has the affect that he (the truth) rubs of off on us and is revealed as we are willing to reveal ourselves to him. Like in all relationships it works like in assimilation. We spend time with a person long enough and we become more and more like that person. That particular person has the ability to set us free…..

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Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I was pondering this verse from John 14:6 for the last days, perhaps weeks now. Perhaps meditating would be a better word. There are verses that follow me throughout my life, that have deep meaning for my spiritual journey and bring me closer into knowing Jesus.

I always interpreted the verse in terms of doing or knowing or deciding the right thing. When Jesus says he is the way I would take it in a more literal sense like to follow him, to be his disciple, or to become like him etc. In my earlier day it would even  mean to follow a certain codex or philosophy that then would be the right way. So I was thinking about the way and walking the way.

As I was “pondering” and  meditating on my own journey it dawned on me that Jesus says “I am the way”. I saw it in connection with other verses asking us to follow him. I also learned in a way that through his death and resurrection on the cross. He opened the way to the father. And I still believe that those interpretations are right. (so Philipp what your saying is that a verse as more then one interpretation)? I guess it has, and  I think as I grow older my understanding goes deeper. First I grasped the surface of what Jesus said. I do this looking back on 30 years of journeying. Jesus is the way. This is very intriguing for me. It is not only that he walks with me through life and also that he prepared the way for me. But it is also that he is the way. And there I get kind of lost in mystical thinking and symbolism. It seems to me like I don’t have the words to describe this.

He is the way in a sense that when we see him we see the father. As we know from the old Testament no one can see God and live.

As we walk on this way (that is him) we are on a journey to know him to be changed by him and in the process the Father is being revealed to us.

Perhaps the verse in Colossians 1:24 ” …. Christ in you the hope of glory” describes more what I mean by it is not the way we walk. It might be more the way (Jesus) that walks with us, in us, through us and in time reveals our true essence and this then would bring us back to the source, our Father in heaven.

With all this written, what I want to say it is not so much about how to walk the way.  It is about recognizing Jesus is the way and also not limiting “the Way” but discovering it/him…. not learning by doing, but learning by walking….

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…spiritual formation and being on a journey of discovering God has been the most difficult and the most wonderful experience for me. If I would have to single out what motivates me and keeps me going in this world; what brings meaning to my life, it would be getting to know the one who gave me life. There are certain things I consider of great importance. I will call them my rules of spiritual travel: This is a work in progress and I will just write the things that come to my mind and will later add or change as I see fit. (as there are my “rules”, they may be totally different for others.

Philipp…..

1. have a little faith…. it truly goes a long way
2. don’t take yourself too seriously.
3. balance keeps you….well, balanced (journeying with God is a bit like crossing a canyon on a slack line)
4. when you think you figured it out. Think some more. But don’t over-think everything
5. simplify in any area of life it will free up space and energy…. or travel light
6. be open for the new turns in life; or change is a good thing
7. Travel light
8. community with other journeyers is of utmost importance (“happiness only when shared” from the movie into the wild)
9. structure helps for a time, for the journey we need to stay flexible.
10. going the road less travelled may not feel right but needs to be taken when you know in your heart leads you on.
11. pain can work for you, even though suffering in life sucks big time. In some mysterious way God can use it for good.
12. there is some truth in everything, but only one said he is the truth.
13. …with this said, test everything and keep the good
14. “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?”   (Jeremiah 12:5)
15. “However fast a man travels, the soul travels at the speed of a camel.” (Hitchhikers guide to the  galaxy)
16. if you loose faith on your journey, travel with hope. Faith is hope in action.

1. be a constant learner, open your eyes and ears

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16. enjoy the little things in life (Rule number 32 from the movie zombieland 🙂

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These were my favorite pair of shoes and I wore them for quite some years. They were extremely comfortable and just really fit my feet. But now they’re worn out and slowly disintegrate into the different parts soon to be thrown away.

When I think of this I remember the movie “Forrest Gump” and his shoe comment. My favorite shoes led me down many paths and through many adventures. The whole experience made my life richer building me up (the good and the bad). Of course it would have happened with other shoes just the same. I guess I just felt a spur of nostalgia looking at them knowing that I have to loose them. It reminded me that life is a succession of phases. New things come into our life’s constantly, we get attached to it and then loose it. After going through a period of grieve and perhaps needing a long time to understand the meaning of it. Later, looking back it will have enriched us, perhaps even given life to something new and deeper.

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Walking with Jesus requires faith. I mean how can you have a relationship with God you cannot see and trust Him with your life, making decisions based on what you believe is His will. In my walk with Jesus not seldom I have made steps believing to have understood only realizing in my immature faith I have made another mistake, a miss-step. Over the years I have become aware that faith is walking with Jesus on a daily basis. I don’t mean a daily fulfillment of religious obligation, but a loving dependency towards God. He gave me life and knew what this was all about. I am going through life curious to find out about this mystery. While walking with Jesus I have to take risks to grow. I have to let go of my own sense of security and embrace the the call coming from him. Sometimes blindly and on shaky ground. Often against what many people think. I get confronted alot with different sets of values of how I should live my life. Not getting the satisfaction of being accepted. Being judged for my values is not a nice thing in the least. Still while being on this journey long enough many things become clear and also familiar, perhaps easier in some ways. At least till the next bend where I have to take all my courage together to walk on into the unknown.

Sometimes walking on water seems to be the easier thing to do then embarking on a lifelong journey with Jesus. Even though I cannot really judge that, because I have not succeeded in either one yet. So I will keep on walking. Be it on water or the life ahead.

Me walking on water 😉

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Sometimes I am astonished by the generosity of God in my life. I have been given so much grace and I have seen and experienced so much on my journey with Jesus. I feel very blessed. I know it sounds cheesy, but I sense God's presence in my life. Not just an emotional experience because I was in a worship meeting or because I tried to be quite for a moment to seek God. It seems more an ongoing awareness of His presence. There is no need for me to try to make something happen by getting active or trying to please Him. It is the freedom just to be and to know that He loves me. 

This is how I am starting this new year. Being aware of the generosity of God. I do not deserve it nor can I add anything to it then just open my heart to Him who made me.

As I was looking at this Japanese cherry tree in full bloom I was once more aware of God's generosity. If He can make a tree bloom like this just to shine for a few days how much more has He prepared for His children. 

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