My father had a glass eye.  Severely wounded by a grenade explosion during World War II in the South Pacific in his mid-twenties, I'd always known him this way.  However, as a child I use to think that his real eye had been shot out in the war by an arrow!  Whenever I'd mention this, he would laugh out loud, though I never understood why.  Instead, he just let me believe what I wanted to believe.  
 
Of course, as I became older I discovered what really happened and the powerful truth of his wounds became an important part of his identity for me.  Because, though his life had more than his share of changes and chances, I could see that along the way he discovered that, through his love for us - his family, as well as many friends, and, through his service to others, his life had purpose and meaning; his wounds had purpose and meaning.
 
It seems that for many in our culture today, our experience of faith and our belief in God is like this.  We want God to believe what we believe, like what we like, disapprove of the same things we do and judge those whom we judge.  Our God may be religious, patriotic, mysterious or simple, dispersing our brand of karma over a broken world by rewarding those who are good and punishing those who aren't. 
 
Maybe we believe that God is really detached from us and the world and only responsible for beautiful sunsets, Lifetime movies or whatever gives us a warm feeling and a lump in our throat.  We may think that when it comes to God and us, we're all just part of some cosmic Etch-a-Sketch that gets shaken up every now and then, eventually erasing us from God's 'Big Picture'.
 
The challenge with this type of thinking is that it's neither grounded in any faithful interpretation of the Bible nor consistent with any sound system of belief.  On this path, we are eventually led to preposterous relativism or to dangerous extremism. 
 
When, through faith, we move into a deeper desire for God we come to a choice.  We can either believe what we want to believe, or we can base our belief in God, and so our faith on the inspiration of the Holy Scripture read within its context, the tradition of faith over two thousand years, the rational thinking and prudent interpretation of reason, as well as our own experience of life and faith.
 

When we are faithful about this journey, the Holy Spirit points us to the living Word, who is Jesus Christ, and Him lifted up on the cross.  Through the powerful truth of His wounds, we are then invited into a relationship that challenges our purpose and promises us a new life.

May you continue to know New Life,