Moving through Lent with purpose - and with Jesus

If you stumbled on this page because you're reading "The Unmaking of a Part-Time Christian", then welcome, it's good to have you visit! This week I'm simply duplicating the post for Wednesday, March 24 from my daily blog, "A Life Examined."

I pray you will be blessed.

"Jesus Gets the Fog Out!

(Image found on the Internet)

For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” - John 18:37

DEALING WITH THE FOG:

Today I woke up to an early morning shrouded in fog; I could barely see across the road at the beginning of my walk. The air was so damp that Scout stopped every few minutes to shake her coat - as if we'd just come in from the rain.

Walking down Miller Road, Scout caught the scent of something interesting and did about 200 yards of her best vacuum-cleaner impersonation - snout hugging the ground and tail high in the air. "It's like seeing Sherlock Holmes and his bloodhound emerging out of the London fog!" the crossing guard at Durant Road exclaimed.

We laughed, and continued on as the soft dawn light gradually began to establish a foothold on the day. We arrived home damp and shivering, more than ready for the pot of "Equal Exchange" Ethiopian coffee that was waiting in the kitchen.

Even now, well past 8:00, visibility is limited and the light is all a muted gray.

I grew up in England, so I'm well acquainted with fog (Okay, that's a huge potential opening for jokes, but I'm not walking through that door this morning!). Sometimes the mist would lay so heavily on the crowded Straights of Dover that huge ships would run into each other, despite the persistent drone of foghorns. (Fog/boat image from Internet)

Typically, there are two things that can remove a thick layer of fog such as the one I walked in this morning. First, a breeze. A fresh movement, an inflow of of air, can carry the mist with it. It doesn't have to be much; sometimes just the hint of a breeze is enough. Then, there is sunlight. In fact, looking out my study window, the sunshine is just now chasing the last remnants of mist. My semi-opaque morning is yielding to translucence via the power of the sun.

Likewise, two particular actions of God's grace work to eradicate the dullness that creeps into my spiritual life like a pernicious vapor. The Holy Spirit, at times a gentle breeze and times a bracing gale, comes as clarity. The Son, cutting through the shadows, deals with clouds in terms of incisive light; the Way of Jesus is the way of discernment and visibility. Then, sometimes, Christ is a signpost, and walks with me as I navigate back to the light.

Regardless, Jesus is The Way.

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him. - John 18:36-38