"How-to" faith?

Do you want to try something new?  Perhaps build a house?  Sail a boat?  Paint a picture?  Write a song?  Get into shape?  Everything you need to know is out there, just a click away.  Whatever the interest, we can go online and instantly have an abundance of information.

What we quickly realize is there is difference between knowing “how-to” and being able to do “how-to.”   The pros and pundits make it look easy.  But when a newbie tries something for the first time, it seldom has the same outcome.  All the questions that had been answered now give rise to a thousand more questions.  The learning curve becomes an intimidatingly narrow and steep road of switchbacks.  Navigating it safely means slowing down and learning new skills.

I had a brand new experience last week.  I went to my first ever fitness class.  I’ve played sports, I “run” (sort of), and even pretend to stretch before curling.  This was different.  I was in a studio with 20 other people, lying on a mat, trying to figure out what a “bolster” was and why I needed a “table top” (turns out, that is a kind of stretch - who knew?).  Bottom line:  it was a little intimidating, at times a lot painful, and in the end, beneficial.  I’m sure my classmates were all as graceful as swans on the Stratford-Upon-Avon river. I looked more like a bottle fly that had just been swatted with a newspaper.  Despite my discomfort - both physical and social - I left feeling pretty good (until the next day).

I now know that bolsters are not comfy pillows (my suggestion to change it out for something a little softer and more comfy was not well received).  I know that I should stretch more.  I know it is easier to do it in a class but difficult to do it when I’m at home.  I know that I was mildly intimidated being in that new environment.  I know that it is not as easy as the instructor makes it look.  And I know just reading about it isn’t going to bring the same results as doing it.

It dawned on me that this is how many people must feel about faith.  Pursuing faith can be intimidating and make one feel socially awkward (remember your first time in a gym or first day at work?).  It easy to be excited about it in the group (when we gather as a church family) but harder when we are alone.

Like any other endeavour, a healthy faith pursuit requires both knowledge and skill.  Both take time to acquire.  It is easy to isolate these two components from each other.  Faith can easily be reduced to structures either dominated by dogma or ritual.  There may even be significant experiences in each domain.  But as we see in the life of people like Moses, Daniel, or Paul, authentic faith - faith that produces life-changing character, nurtures irrepressible joy, and is confident in the goodness of God - is a truth-in-action skill.

Do we even believe there is a God?  If so, what is this God like - and how do we know that?  If we can know there is a God and what He is like, then how do we relate to Him?  Does knowledge of God equate relationship with God?  

The questions can just keep on coming . . . and that is a good thing!  This is the learning curve.  Our decisions about career advancement, the nature of our relationships, the music we listen to or movies we watch, or how we care for ourselves can all be informed by the truth of faith in God, the nature of His created order, and our role as His image-bearers.  Living by faith isn’t walking through life blindly, hoping our commitment to spirituality will bring good karma into our lives.  

Faith-informed living is a skill we never stop pursuing.  We learn by doing (and sometimes doing not so well!), by growing in our understanding of God, His nature and character.  We learn by being with others who are in the “spiritual fitness studio.”  Some of them know what a bolster is and are willing to help us learn.  All of us have room for improvement.

A life of faith is not defined by simple principles of “how-to” or following a regimen of rules.  It is a commitment to learning and living the truths about the Creator God in every detail of life.  

Let’s do this, together!