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Brief Overview

Life is a journey to God. Our purpose in life is to progress on this journey to God and to help others likewise progress on this journey. The purpose of this book is quite similar. This book will explore how to perceive our journey, how to progress on our journey, and how to help others progress on their journey.

Preface (excerpt… Journey to God)

This book is the result of a forty-year-old argument that God used to propel me on a quest to discover the true nature of salvation.

Ironically, this quest came at the low point of my life. I was one of those young adults who simply wandered out of the Church, making no conscious choice for or against, simply carried away by circumstance. Many things can snatch away the seed of faith before we have a chance to make it our own, before we have had a genuine encounter with Christ. The allure of materialism, the anti-faith propaganda at most colleges, or even the adventure of the military may steal the seed of faith—or at least leave it unattended. This is largely what happened to me—the military wrestled me for my seed of faith.

The Air Force had sent me to a remote comm site where the onsite bar was far handier than the local church—which I never found. At times, the environment reminded me of the sitcom MASH. There were few places to go other than the chow hall and the bar. We might visit the TV room in the dorm, or even the haunted army barracks behind the chow hall, but the bar remained the community hub.

Some good things happened in Germany, some preparation for what was to come; however, I was nonetheless the furthest from God that I had ever been when I returned stateside following that two-year assignment in Germany. I settled into a new base, a new job, and a new dorm. Little did I know the encounter that would change my life drew near. 

Martin and I, both sergeants in the Air Force, met when providence assigned us as roommates. One evening, Martin nudged our discussion toward matters of faith, which I welcomed. He may have said something positive; however, all I remember was his casual damnation of all Jews—his legalistic and arbitrary views on salvation. God absolutely damned the faithful Jew knowing and seeking him within the limitations of his own faith tradition, while the Lord ushered immediately to the beatific vision the Christian who uttered one brief prayer and otherwise lived a life devoid of virtue! He never quite said it in these words, yet he did agree when I repeated the assertion back to him in these words.

This view disturbed me.

Christ is the way—indeed, the only way—and yet wouldn’t he offer channels of grace to others seeking him yet not knowing his name? Might this grace begin at least a limited transformation of their minds and hearts? Didn’t the Church clearly teach that since God wills the salvation of the whole human race, each person is given the possibility of being saved? Perhaps in ways known only to God?

Yes, and what about our transformation? Wasn’t the abundance of grace found within Christianity supposed to have a profound impact on the Christian? Weren’t the Christians, above all others, supposed to become in reality the children of God? Wasn’t virtue the only measure of this reality?

Christian fundamentalism—both Catholic and Protestant—revived the letter of the law and reverted to a Pharisee’s attitude of privilege devoid of transformation. We are to be transformed into saints, into the very children of God, and yet this is not central to fundamentalism. And, of course, this transformation is even less central to the far left—the globalists and other progressives. I immediately knew that Christian truth must be both challenging and loving, both fervent and unifying, both zealous and ecumenical.

I argued passionately with Martin, though completely unprepared. He quoted Bible passages—often out of context—and twisted them to support his narrative. He used the Bible to “prove” his views rather than embracing the Bible to seek the truth. While I suppose we all do this to some degree, his excess in this led me to coin the term Bible lawyer to describe him.

The argument didn’t faze him; however, it changed me forever. While I didn’t have the answers, I could not accept Martin’s version of salvation. That day began a quest to under-stand the nature of salvation and thus the direction of our lives.

The day after the argument, I drove into Rapid City, South Dakota and found a Christian bookstore. I picked up two books: a Bible and The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. I read the Bible cover to cover; it lit a fire within me. I read Hal Lindsey’s apocalyptic book with its predictions about end times events taking place in the late 1980s (the time I was reading his books). Hal Lindsey taught me a lot about Bible lawyers. While I rejected Lindsey’s view on salvation from the start, I must admit his views on prophecy held me captive for long months.

I continued to ravenously read very diverse Christian books. C.S. Lewis’ books probably helped more than any others at getting to the heart of the matter those first few years. The saints, especially the Spanish mystics, clarified the Journey. St. Pope John Paul II’s catechesis on heaven, hell, and purgatory particularly capsulized and validated my growing understanding. The truth had always been there; I simply needed to look a little deeper. I needed to seek it.

If we judge people simply as “saved” or “unsaved,” then we tend to believe we have all the answers and stop seeking the deeper things of Christ. We tend to blind ourselves to the wonderful truth of the Journey. We short-circuit the life more abundant that Christ offers.

When we really seek Jesus Christ, we begin to discover what a relationship with him can and should be. We discover the wonderful truth that all of us are on a journey to God, that all of us have a long way to go, and that any of us may become actualized children of God—growing in peace, joy, and love—beyond anything we can imagine, through Jesus Christ!

Contents

Preface

PART I Nature of Our Journey

Chapter 1: The Call

Chapter 2: Why Jesus Had to Die

Chapter 3: We Pilgrims

Chapter 4: All Things Unequal

Chapter 5: Entering the Kingdom – Part 1

Chapter 6: Entering the Kingdom – Part 2

Chapter 7: Pearl of Great Value

Chapter 8: The Ultimate Purpose

PART II Foundations for Our Journey

Chapter 9: The Kingdom Is at Hand

Chapter 10: The Greatest Commandment

Chapter 11: A New Commandment

Chapter 12: The Answer

Chapter 13: Motivation

Chapter 14: Virtue

Chapter 15: Strength in Weakness

Chapter 16: Rule of Life

PART III Advancing on Our Journey

Chapter 17: Parable of The King & I

Chapter 18: Beyond Basic Conversion

Chapter 19: Seeking Good Things

Chapter 20: Serious About Surrender

Chapter 21: Furnace of Suffering

Chapter 22: Generosity in Things Big & Small

Chapter 23: Road Map for the Journey

Chapter 24: Advancing in Prayer

Chapter 25: Less is More

Chapter 26: God’s Plan

Chapter 27: God’s Helpers

Your Next Step

Appendix A: About Questions to Contemplate

Appendix B: Small Groups Session Breakdown

Appendix C: Rule of Life Sample Practices

Appendix D: Discipleship Roadmap

Appendix E: Gift Inventory

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Our Forgotten Journey to God

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