August 18, 2014 TIMES NEWSPAPER COLUMN this week, Chilliwack I was driving by the old Traveller’s Inn in down town Chilliwack this morning. It is all boarded up with plywood. I knew people who lived there only a few months ago. At one time, the Traveller’s must have been the newest place in town, a great place to stay. Over the years, God has always felt near to me. That might be a prerequisite for any priest or pastor, that feeling, that knowledge deep inside, that Jesus is close. There have been times when the Spirit of God has spoken very clearly and specifically to me as well, such as when it was time for my wife and I to pack up and come to Chilliwack. My Christian faith can be traced back at least to my parents and grandparents, and perhaps much further. My early faith was built on other family members, aunts and uncles, and a great many faithful people who came in and out of the picture during my growing up years. I can imagine those beginnings being a bit like the Traveller’s Inn in its hay day. All fresh and new, weathering every storm, feeling confident. While I was attending university, God called me to go much deeper, below the paint so to speak. I experienced months of deep struggle and came to realize that my real battles are spiritual, and that it is my own self that Jesus confronts. This is not an easy faith. We see this also in the life of Jesus, who suffered rejection and death on a cross. In his prayers and in his solitude, Jesus dealt with his own heart - we are allowed a vignette into this when we read about his temptations in the wilderness. He learned obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8). The Holy Spirit led him through a never ending wilderness of villages and people and exhausting encounters. Jesus set aside time to be healed of the day’s hurts and to have the Holy Spirit wash the dust of the world from his feet. Suffering is inward and spiritual, as we face ourselves and our world. Too often we project suffering as if it were externally applied, something to avoid at all costs. In the Christian life, our inner selves suffer as God renews us day by day. Suffering is something we face every time we ask for forgiveness or turn to God for grace. Suffering is the core of repentance, and the lash of the truth. There is no self-help book, and no way forward in the quagmire - except that Jesus beckons. The Traveller’s Inn reminds me as I drive by. No light is passing through its windows, its bones are dying. It stands defiant against the sunshine, and empty of footfalls. It will soon be gone, a reminder of a life lived without renovation, and of a heart that could do nothing but take and never give. The Inn reminds me that I need that daily washing of my feet, surrender of my heart, and replenishing of my spiritual well. Lord Jesus, confront my inaction, and task me with obedience - that I may live!
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 17:13:40 +0000
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