Adam's Questions

Adam had a few questions. So, after the morning gathering yesterday, I rode my bike to meet with him. We decided to walk while we talked.

Adam's questions came as a result of an earlier question he had posed. "What is a good spiritual book to read?" Taking his faith into consideration, I recommended several titles, and he chose Putting on the Mind of Christ by the modern-day mystic and public policy lawyer, Jim Marion.

As we walked and talked, Adam explained how, during his attendance at Liberty University, he was often viewed as an alternative outsider. Mr. Marion's writing was challenging notions of Christianity that he had learned while growing up and while at Liberty.

I listened to Adam as he described the openness of mind he had, toward ideas he was reflecting on for the first time in his life. His question was about how to share these ideas without coming off as judgmental.

Good as this question is, replying can be tricky and I said as little as possible.

Since I had to say something, however, I offered the metaphor of nurturing a plant into bloom. "It would be futile to attempt speeding things along," I ventured, "by pulling on the plant to make it grow faster."

Just like a plant, each of us grows naturally under the sunlight and rain of God's goodness. Mostly we need to relax and let the Divine Gardener do the work that belongs to Him, more so than to us.

I hope what I said will be helpful for Adam.