Happy New Year! Once again as we turn our calendars and start a new year we hope and pray that 2022 may open a new chapter in our world and in our lives. May this pandemic soon be in the rearview mirror. May strife, violence, and hate fall to our better selves. May we gain a new and greater sense of gratitude for all the blessings around us.
As I ponder these things I find myself often using the phrase “people of faith” with the implication that “people of faith” encounter and respond to life differently than those who are not so. But then I remember that there are two different ways that this description can be interpreted.
“People of faith” can simply mean those people, of whatever sect, who have a faith in God. It implies that there is a Supreme Being, a deity. It means that the world is not random and that there is meaning to it all. Certainly, this worldview should impact how a “person of faith” understands and reacts to daily life.
But the term can also have another meaning. “People of faith” can also mean more than simply a religious belief, a worldview. It can also be descriptive, meaning people whose lives are shaped and molded by faith. For such people, faith is the center of their lives and being. It determines who we are and what we will do in every situation. Our relationship with God is the foundation of all our other relationships.
As we start a new year so full of new opportunities and new challenges, which interpretation best describes you?
Have a happy and blessed new year!
P.S. I also want you to know that Church leadership have heard the desire of many of you for a return to an early (8:00 AM) service. We are currently considering the programmatic and logistical aspects of that. Also, no permanent decision has been made regarding the venue of the 9:00 AM service. Stay tuned, 2022 promises to be full of opportunities!