"Faith begins when we realize that our faith has a very weak hold on God, but we trust that God has a very strong hold on us, that God holds us more tightly than we hold God...." - Brian McLaren, quoting a mentor

Have you ever lost your faith?

I had a good conversation with Andre', my riding buddy to Atlanta this past weekend for a Cleansing Streams retreat. We talked about how difficult it is to move out of a culturally-formed religious mindset, into a groove that's based on a growing and deepening relationship with Christ and others. When you move from one level of faith to another, you lose something that previously was unmoveable. In tearing down your foundations, the pain and unrest either keeps us from moving fully in this new direction, or it rips us so bad that we lose faith entirely. Or, hopefully, it produces a brokenness that relies on God in a newer and stronger way.

Anyway, what I try to remember is this: God has me, and wants to be in relationship with me - more than I want Him. And if I'll follow Him, He'll do a better job of keeping me in His hands than I'll do of holding onto what I thought was important.
- posted by Rick @ 09:15