How to Decide...
One of the perennial conundrums we face is waking up in the morning and deciding whether to spend the day in sheer enjoyment of the glorious world around us - or engaged in the hard work of repairing it.
You and I have simply been gifted with such an amazing world, especially as we experience it as Americans, yet at the same time we also see the vast suffering and affliction that so many in the world experience on a moment-by-moment basis.
This quandary comes to mind as we ponder Jesus' famous retort to a group of conniving critics when he utters that memorable line, 'Give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God.' If you are like me you have a recurring challenge in figuring out what exactly belongs to God and what exactly belongs to Caesar.
Thus the difficulty you and I to contemplate, one of the most important challenges we face as Christians, is discernment.
As we discern we utilize the tried-and-true Anglican tools of scripture, tradition, and reason. We look to God's word to instruct us, we look to those who have gone before us and those who surround us for their wisdom and we look to the knowledge that we have been given as well as other resources that help us make sense of things. It is much more an art than it is science, yet this light-filled art inspires us to pray and inquire, tapping into the Divine resources with which we have been so wonderfully blessed.
It makes us wonder: are there right or wrong answers, or are there simply better and worse answers? However we decide to move forward, we must always do so in the knowledge that God tends to judge our attitudes and intentions more than our actual accomplishments, meaning that just wanting to do the right thing holds great weight and merit. I am also strengthened knowing that God is merciful and God looks upon us with forgiveness, understanding, and mercy more than judgement and condemnation.
May the spirit grant us resolve, wisdom, courage, and firm resolve to discern the weighty questions before us - and the grace to understand we're loved, cherished, and adored regardless of their outcome.
