Wayward Faith

When I go hiking, it's always a truly terrifying event.

Not for me, (I'm having the time of my life) but for those with me.  Especially if my wife is there.  The reason my hiking habits raise anxiety levels is two-fold:  1) I'm quick and sure footed.  2) I have an aversion to well established trails.

The first means that I move faster- often a lot faster- than those with me.  When I slow down, it wears me out.  So, I keep the steps up as well as the heart rate.  In my view, if you're not hiking briskly and bouncing from rock to rock, you're just walking.

But the second, well, that means that I like to find the more difficult paths.  Rather, I like to find the non-existent path and "break it in."  This translates into me running out to the edge of jutting rocks and finding the most straight up/shale covered slopes to explore.  I don' like to follow any pattern, I just send my feet toward the sight that seems most challenging.  There is a sense of accomplishment I get when I do this- that I'm breaking new ground, and that I'm being just a little bit dangerous.

This is a common theme lately.  I have come to feel that we, as a society, are far too safe.  I grew up with no bike helmets or pads, no seat belt laws in the backseat, and no padding or netting on trampolines.  There was an element of danger to childhood that made it exciting.  Something about those things made we want to get out and do things, to try things.  Now, if you eschew the safety rules, then you are considered, at best, a bit wayward.

I like the word wayward.  We should use it more.  But I also feel we should tweak the way we use it a bit.  For reference, here is the definition from Merriam-Webster:
1: following one's own capricious, wanton, or depraved inclinations : ungovernable


2: following no clear principle or law : unpredictable

3: opposite to what is desired or expected : untoward
 
See, to be wayward is negative.  And if you are following 'depraved inclinations,' then yeah, that's bad.  But sometimes, we need to be a little bit more of the 3rd definition.  "Opposite of what is desired or expected."  Especially if what is desired or expected is in conflict with God.
 
Enter faith.  To me, in the world today, there is nothing more wayward to the world's culture than to live by faith.  Heck, if we're really honest, there is nothing more wayward to much of church culture than to live by faith.  Sure, we believe in God, and we pray to Him, and maybe read the Bible a bit and go to church- that means we're living by faith, right?
 
 The truth is, we are living more by established doctrines and traditions that by faith.  For  instance, if God asked you to drop everything today and move to the Middle East to share Christ, would you even consider it, or would you brush it aside as crazy? 
 
Okay, fair enough, that's too big.  What if God asked you today to openly share your faith with an atheist co-worker- or boss?  What if God asked you to not look the other way when the panhandler walks up to your car at the stop light?  What if God asked you to give more (or some) money to the church, even though finances are tight?
 
We are ruled by logic, by doing what makes sense.  If we can't explain something completely, we can't put our faith in it.  It almost seems like we won't really commit to God unless we can know Him completely and without a doubt.  We need cold hard facts.
 
We need helmets and seatbelts and nets and pads and clearly marked trails, or we won't do it.
 
And that is why faith is wayward.  It is rebellious, it is crazy.  2 Corinthians 5:13 says as much:  "If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you."

God doesn't make sense.  To paraphrase Donald Miller from Blue Like Jazz- He doesn't resolve, he doesn't line up with established rhythms.  God is wayward to our expectations and facts and science.

When Jesus walked on water, it scared the disciples. (Duh.)  But then he asked Peter to come out on the water as well.  No scientific laws said that water would hold him, no facts or prior experience could lead him to any other conclusion than "I'm gonna sink.  Fast."  But his faith wasn't in the water, or science, or facts.  It was in Jesus.  So, he stepped out of his safe boat, and walked on water. 

Peter, like Jesus, was wayward.

When we have faith- real, living, vibrant faith- we will not fit in with people who don't believe in God.  Or Christians who want a God they can control and wrap their minds around.  You will walk with Him like I hike- faster and sure footed, and going off the beaten path.  You will seem to those who cling to the safety helmets they call "what we've always done" a bit nutty, dangerous, or even naive.  But you- you will call yourself something different.  You will recognize that those others would use this label as a negative, you claim it as a badge of honor.  Because it makes you more like your Father.

You will call yourself "Wayward."