I must confess that I have never read an Alister McGrath book, until now. Three years ago a friend recommended The Journey: A Pilgrim in the Lands of the Spirit while I was on one of my journeys to the RTS Orlando Bookstore for a sale. At some point I started to read it, but got stuck along the way.
Fast forward to my trip to PA earlier this month. Seemed like a good book to bring. I’m wondering why I put it down in the first place. It was very appropriate for the place in life where I find myself.
Alister McGrath confesses that it is too easy for him to intellectualize his faith. Here he is not advocating an anti-intellectualized faith, but internalizing the truth of our faith so it produces hope in the midst of life’s journey. To do this he spends some time advocating biblical meditation (see my post on this). This is part of the map he provides for us to persevere on the journey.
He takes Exodus as his template with alternating stages of wilderness and oasis. To promote trust and hope in the midst of the suffering that will often mark this journey, he talks about remembering what God has done and anticipating what God will do. These are essentially the past and future aspects of biblical meditation.
“The present was thus sustained by the memory of past events and the hope of future events.”
Along the way the introduces a series of landmarks from a biblical theology (creation, fall, redemption), and some companions for the journey. He recognizes the need to learn from those who have gone before us. He chooses men like Jonathan Edwards, J.I. Packer, C.S. Lewis, John Bunyan and more.
He grapples with things like doubt. We can’t avoid doubt, especially when our hopes are dashed and we find ourselves wandering, seemingly aimlessly, for 40 years. Or stuck in Winter Haven for 2+ years waiting, waiting and doing some more waiting.
“It is not merely others who have found the living God who accompany us; it is the living God himself. His presence guards, consoles, and challenges us, energizing us as we journey. The God who is the goal of our traveling is also our companion on that journey.”
There are times when I wonder if this eases my pain or aggravates it. It is that doubt thing. It twists your head and your heart. You begin to wonder why He’d do such a thing to you. But I think back, remember, times I’ve had to choose surgery for my son and sit holding him in his pain. I did that because I love him, and want him to be whole. It is not hate, but love that moves Him to bring me to the wilderness, and join me there.
“Failure is one of the most fundamental of all the wilderness experiences. It can have devastating effects. Those who fail often feel they are useless and have no place in God’s purposes. They are tempted to sit down by the side of the road and travel no farther. … God has a long history of taking self-confessed failures and doing great things through them. Perhaps when we fail, we are most receptive to the grace of God. “
I suppose this could merit a separate post on failure. Some of my friends are suffering other kinds of afflictions- life threatening afflictions. Mine is only career-threatening. But people are afraid of failures, people who’ve failed. Sadly this is especially true in the church where we worship success. Yes, admit it. We want to hire away the successful pastor so he can make our church successful.
And so we miss the grace of God.
“Yesterday’s failure is today’s opportunity for growth, which leads to tomorrows success.”
So, in many ways this book met me where I needed to be met- in the wilderness surrounded by a pointing throng screaming “failure”. And then the One who joins me…
Cavman Considers 
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