Our Search for Ancient Paths

So, I promised you last week that I would tell you how my small group was seeking to “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it” (Jeremiah 6:16). So this is what we have been doing…

We started with a study of Jesus in the Gospels. Specifically, our group has been going through the Gospel of Mark. And the rule is that all of the “skubalon” (Greek term, look it up!) has to be thrown out the window (or flushed down the drain). Only what is “vintage faith” is what can remain. And this is no purely academic effort. Every study has a huge what-does-this-mean-for-us discussion. Down the drain go all of the trite Sunday School answers. We usually hear the question, “And did you get that from this text or somewhere else?” There’s a lot of discomfort in that. And you can almost hear the moaning as the sacred cows are butchered. But I’ll also say that this group is going “deeper” than it ever has, maybe deeper than any group I have ever participated in.

And then, there’s action. Because God made Himself known to us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth as found in an ancient book we call the Bible, we are seeking to be His faithful followers. This God we serve did not give us an academic faith. He gave us an example! And He said that, even as He lived that example in tangible ways in the world, He expects that we would do likewise. All that He was and is was “incarnated” in this man, Jesus. And we are to incarnate our understanding of Him. We don’t avoid doing “bad” things because He might punish us. Rather, we realize that people looking upon us are seeing what we believe about our God. So, we try to represent Him in all we do. It’s NOT easy because we are so different from Him in our humanness.

And this Fall, we are seeking to serve the “least” among us. The group came up with an outreach they called “Simply Socks.” You see, the homeless generally have only one pair of socks and those are wretched! But there are already clinics and missions that interact with these folks; we don’t have to create the opportunity. Instead, what we can do is call others to join us. So we’re collecting new cotton socks to donate to ministries in the city. And we’re advertizing this effort within our spheres of influence. Two teachers in the group have taken it to their schools. I’m sharing through this blog. There is a website: Simply Socks (https://sites.google.com/site/simplysocks2011/). And I’m hopeful that others will want to join in on the mission of the church, even if they don’t believe. After all, can anyone look upon a broken, desperate person and not be moved to an emotional response? The emotion you feel might show how close to God you really are.

So, where are you and your group? What emotion do you feel when you look upon the homeless? Or do you even look? The Lord does. He sees. He knows. And He acts, through His people! Join us on our search for the ancient paths!