by Sean Graham
There are a lot of words to describe our relationship with Christ. We are called as followers of Christ to be filled with His Spirit. Our relationship with God is often referred to as being “in Christ”. The Scripture asks us to be Christ-like, to have the mind of Christ, and to allow that mind to dwell within us. All of these ideas and hopes can become prepositional statements and sources of regret and guilt as most of us don't seem able to experience these ideals. We seem blocked from the depth of this transformational experience.
That is why in our community we articulate our desire for Christ in deeply pragmatic, but hopeful terms. Our statement, which identifies our trajectory, is that we are “stumbling towards Christ”. To stumble may have negative connotations for those who struggle with the acceptance of their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. However, if we can accept our weakness and our vulnerability, and receive that our journey towards Christ is always a stumbling one, it can become a beautiful thing. I don’t know about you, but the idea that I am always strong through a long journey, while idealistically inspiring, is honestly a lie. I am constantly fumbling and stumbling with this Christ-energy inside of me as it mingles with my flesh, my emotions and mind. All that makes me, me. This stumbling reminds me every day that my hope is found in grace and that my victory is also found in grace. That my journey is a grace-filled one. The beauty of grace lies in the actual energy of Christ, which comes to save me from my karma. Grace takes everything I do, and everything I don’t do, and makes it beautiful . Whereas the notion of karma, or reaping and sowing, implies I only get what I deserve. I find this idea of karma only sometimes true, because Grace has nothing to do with reward or punishment. I get far more than I deserve. This is why I recognize my journey as a stumbling towards Christ. Every time my face hits the dirt, I am reminded of my humble posture. I then stand back up and my motion continues towards Christ. Until I taste the dirt again.
For those of you who relate to stumbling, be encouraged that it is towards Christ. You might struggle to believe this, but I really don’t care about what you believe. I care about truth - which is your actual story, your actual experience. We are in Christ, yet we experience the apparent antithesis of this every day in our brokenness. We are always both glory and horror, pure joy and sadness.
Let the statement of “a growing Spiritual community, stumbling towards Christ”, which my community identifies with in hope and freedom, become your prayer today. May you too become part of a Spiritual recovery community and may you see your stumbling towards Christ as a beautiful life.