I read this passage I liked, from a theologian named Alan Jones:
"One of our problems is that very few of us
have developed any distinctive personal life. Everything about us seems
secondhand, even our emotions. In many cases, we have to rely on secondhand
information in order to function. I accept the word of a physician, a
scientist, a farmer, on trust. I do not like to do this. I have to because they
possess vital knowledge of living of which I am ignorant. Secondhand
information concerning the state of my kidneys, the effects of cholesterol, and
the raising of chickens, I can live with. But when it comes to questions of
meaning, purpose, and death, secondhand information will not do. I cannot
survive on a secondhand faith in a secondhand God. There has to be a personal
word, a unique confrontation, if I am to come alive."
Yes, so true. Our Christian faith has uniform truths to which we all adhere and aspire, but as individuals we are unique, formed by our own stories, experiences and relationships, and shaped by our personal connection with God through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, most of our Christian faith can’t be imposed top-down, or dispended like a teacher to a pupil; it must emerge bottom-up through our own unique growth and experience.
I think this would be one of my primary messages to fellow Christians; faith is not a mechanical script to be recited - it is more like a flame that must be continually stoked and kindled within. Only then is it truly alive, and wholly our own.
