So we begin our walk again

“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,”
-Proverbs 3:13

How soon we forget the very titles we give to things. My wife and I have been working through some things, which is why I took some time off from the blog. I began to wonder what place this blog and the podcast could have in such a process.

I think sometimes I forget that this page, this blog, this mission is about a process, not a completion. It’s about a journey through Christian life. It is about the “pilgrimage” part of the title and not just the “Christian” part.

It is in trial most often that we find wisdom and understanding. It is in these times that you learn what is really important, and Who will stand beside you in all things. And these things, just as Solomon will tell us in the verses following, are more valuable than anything this world can give.

So my wife and I, through debate and prayer, decided to start the blog up again, God willing. I have much to tell you about, much that I have learned lately.

Here’s just about the most important thing I’ve learned. God chose us for an incredible gift, one that we did not deserve. He chose us for life, though we deserve death. And we so often repay that divine gift in sin, which is willfully disobeying our Lord. Such disrespect we show Him, even after He died for us. This realization shocked me, and it horrified me. I began to think about this as though God were here. Say my mother gave me a lavish gift for my birthday, and then, right in front of her, I did something I knew would make her sad or even angry. What if I mocked her right there? What if I showed distain for the gift?

This is what we do with God. We take His gift, and then we run off immediately to disobey His commands.

The depth of my own depravity astonishes me. The darkness of my heart goes much deeper than I had thought.

And yet He loves us. Isn’t that strange? Isn’t it wonderful? And He still accepts us, not because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus has done. I suddenly thought of myself as a young student, in the principal’s office in school, in trouble again. I’m about to be punished harshly when Jesus, like a well-respected and well-behaved older brother, comes in and says, “I’ll vouch for Paul. I’m with him, and I’m helping to guide him, and we’re making progress.”

Yes, the darkness in my heart runs deep, but it is more shallow today than it was yesterday. We’re making progress.

So we begin the pilgrimage anew.