By Rhoda Klein Miller
Throughout history humanity has looked up for direction. By land or sea, the stars have helped travellers navigate. Reading the sky has not only guided journeys but also activity, providing cues for when to hustle and when to hunker down and wait. Beyond the atmosphere and celestial bodies is a Creator God who wants to be the True North we orient our lives on.
“God is the map whereby we locate the setting of our life. That God is the water in which we launch our life raft. That God is the real thing from which and toward which we receive our being and identify ourselves. It follows that the kind of God at work in your life will determine the shape and quality and risk at the center of your existence. It matters who God is.” ~Walter Bruggeman
If you don’t know where you are, who you are, or whose you are, making decisions and future planning can feel daunting. This is particularly true for today’s graduates and young adults who are moving from greenhouses to the fields. The greenhouse is a place of safety and consistency. The field is teeming with possibility and challenges. You can’t get lost in a greenhouse but you can easily become disoriented in the wide open fields. You need to keep your sights locked onto the great Guiding Light to maintain or recover your bearings.
Transitions can lead to spiritual drift and deconstruction of faith, or they can prompt a reconstruction of our faith, and become defining moments for God to move powerfully. In Luke 22 we find Peter, a man experiencing tremendous disorientation, as his expectations of what Jesus would do and become are shattered. Peter even denies knowing Jesus and returns to the fisherman’s life he had before, unsure how to move forward. In John 21, the resurrected Jesus reunites with Peter, removes the shame of his failure and reminds him of his mission. Peter’s defining moment occurs in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit empowers him to share his confidence in Christ the Messiah and thousands are moved to follow Jesus.
Jesus extends the same invitation to you as he did to Peter: to live into His great story by following Him. What this looks like will be different and diverse because we each have something unique to contribute. Where do you find yourself today? Greenhouse? Wild fields? Drifting? Following? Deconstructing? Reconstructing? Here is a 10 Day Bible reading plan you might be find helpful as you find your bearings for the next phase of your journey.