Monday's thoughts

Faith: the Challenge to Grow
It is spring and soon will be Easter but before we can get there we experience the tradition of Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday brings to mind memories of kids waving palm leaves and parading into the sanctuary. We are to think of Jesus entering Jerusalem to a hero’s welcome only to find his way to the cross and all the while his disciples are clueless. They never do get what Jesus is trying to teach them. There are times when we modern-day disciples can feel just as clueless. When tragedy strikes or illness hits or hard times come we can feel ill equipped to answer even our own questions of faith, let alone the questions of others. So what keeps faith growing even in hard times? I believe that it is in these times that our faith has the potential for the most growth. If our faith becomes hardened and stale, never growing or adapting to new experiences, then we cannot deal with the changes life throws at us. Some might be tempted to ignore these challenges to faith or even discard their faith all together but there is another path. This Palm Sunday we celebrate young people taking on the challenge to walk that path; the path that leads us to grow and adapt to our experiences. We celebrate those youth who have taken on the challenge of Confirmation to learn the history, worship, traditions and most of all to begin forming their own faith. As we draw inspiration from these great young people accepting the challenges of faith we are reminded that we too must be diligent in our faith. When we feel like those disciples in the dark and confused we are reminded that each challenge we face is an opportunity to grow as people of faith. We study and pray and reflect and most of all talk with each other about faith and how we are to meet the challenges of our day. Our growing in our faith is the only way we can be prepared when life’s path grows stormy and confusing. As Lent comes to a close I challenge us all to find some way of growing in faith. As I stress in Confirmation, never stop growing!

Joel Kershaw


To email Joel directly:
jkershaw@fcfumc.net

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