The Labyrinth of Faith
What do we know about a Labyrinth?
Sometimes we use the terms “Maze” and “Labyrinth synonymously, but there
is a difference in the two. A maze has been described as a complex, branching,
multicursal puzzle with choices of path and direction, while a unicursal labyrinth has only a single
path to the center.
So as adjectives the difference between multicursal and unicursal
is
that multicursal is having more than one possible
route between the center and the outside, while unicursal is being composed entirely of a single continuous
path or line.
If
we use the analogy of walking through a maze or labyrinth to talk about the way
we move through life, we can learn a few things.
When
our lives are not focused on God they can become very much like a maze. We find
ourselves moving through this multicursal place of multiple directions and dead
ends. There is confusion and a great deal of moving backwards in strife.
When
we look at a labyrinth we see that the path has only one destination. Our goal
is the center most point. This unicursal route has one continuous path or line;
but there’s something we also notice about it when we look closely. Although
there is one path, that path sometimes moves towards the center and sometimes
away from the center. This gives the traveler the impression that they aren’t
making any progress, when in fact, our aerial view shows as that as long as
they keep moving forward…they will reach the center.
The
labarynth is so much like our faith walk. When we focus on God and make relationship
with Him the center goal in our lives we move forward, getting closer and
closer on our walk. But there are times on that walk that we feel like we’re
not making progress. Times when we feel like we are far away from the center and
so we stop walking all together. Did you ever have that time that you asked “God
where are you?”
If
we were to zoom out we would realize that although there is a zig zag to our
travels; when we stay on that path and keep walking forward, we will get to where we want to be; in the
case of our faith, that is in precious relationship with God.
Each
step forward is a step closer, regardless of the twists or turns of life. There
are times when God will seem silent. There will be times when God guides us in
directions that seem counter intuitive to where we want to go. These are those
moments that you see the path move away from the center on the labyrinth. But
from our zoomed out vantage point we know that if we just keep moving forward we
are still going to get to our goal. The problem is, it’s hard to see that when
we lose sight of the big picture. When we forget to ‘zoom out’ from the zigs
and zags of life we become overwhelmed by them.
There
are times in our faith that we feel like we are making so much progress and we
feel the presence of God in our lives abundantly. Then there are times that
regardless of our faithfulness, we start to feel a little bit lost or
disconnected. We may feel farther away from God then we did before.
These
are the times to remember the labyrinth. Remember what you see as you look down
at it from above. We see that the path although filled with turns and sometimes
seemingly haphazard, is leading us to where we want to go. Keep moving forward.
Even
when the twists and turns of life make us feel lost….we remember to keep moving
forward in faith. Because we know that regardless of the twists, the path of
faith and relationship with God brings us closer with every step forward.
When
life makes you feel lost, zoom out and remember the labyrinth.
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