A Star to Guide Your Way

This is a tricky post. An uncomfortable post. One that not everyone will agree with in this day and age. But is important nonetheless. I'll have a go, as it's important to talk about these things - even if you decide to keep it to yourself because you don't think your friends will understand.

In my lifetime, being openly religious has changed from being nothing remarkable to deeply unfashionable. Perhaps even a little bit sinister. I daresay that trend will accelerate in your lifetime, as people increasingly view life only through the lens of science and logic.

Science and logic are great, and important tools with which we measure and consider the world around us. They also aren't incompatible with being religious - and here is what I mean by that...

A frequent refrain you will hear is to say that if we can't explain something scientifically, it is only because we currently lack the scientific understanding to explain the phenomena. And that is true, I'm sure there are many things we can't yet explain that will be understood one day.

I, for one, certainly appreciate the progress the scientific method has brought society, but I'm not yet convinced that absolutely everything falls within the realms of science. If there are things we can't yet explain through science, it seems equally as valid to say there may be things which science eventually categorises as beyond scientific explanation.

But let's acknowledge there will never be an end to scientific enquiry and therefore there will never be a definitive conclusion to the above point. A obsessive reverence to science and logic, black and white, to the exclusion of any ambiguity or colour is equally as tedious as a fanatical devotion to an organised religion.

To be a person of faith, to believe in a religious or spiritual doctrine, is to surrender to the idea that there are forces at work which defy logic and science. You need to come to the conclusion that there are things that move beyond our understanding - something to be felt but not easily explained. As Wordsworth penned so beautifully..."a sense sublime/ Of something far more deeply interfused."

My faith, and I hope yours, is the Protestant tradition of the Anglican church. That is the faith into which you were baptised, and one I believe that serves us well in nurturing a relationship with God.

At its best, our Anglican tradition is very personal, beautiful and thoughtful, encouraging us to have a direct relationship with the Almighty. Grounded in the same rich, apostolic succession as the Catholic church, it nonetheless tends to avoid much of their dogma and extremes. The sublime music of the English Cathedrals also helps!

For me, deciding to believe in God, to have faith, happened slowly over time. It came with the realisation that for all my faults and mistakes, my little prayers - tentatively offered - were being answered in a way I could barely comprehend. There was no big moment, no lightning strike, just the growing, everyday proof of the abundance He was providing in my life. You, being amongst His greatest gifts.

Over time, with reverent gratitude, I think you can learn to see His Grace in the silence and blessings in your life. An invisible wind that we can see only through the effect it has on the things it touches.

Having faith is like having a star to guide your way - you will never be left wondering how to act. It sets the worthy expectation that we will act for the good of others; that we will try to build our character to include, amongst others, the virtues of tolerance and humility; and that when we inevitably fall short, there is a force to which we can turn for unconditional love and forgiveness. Faith teaches us that failure is only human, but in God we have sure support.

Throughout life, you will meet people who don't have faith. Maybe they lost their faith or maybe they never had any. Perhaps they have a different faith - it doesn't matter - all are under God's protection whether they recognise it or not. It's not our job to convince them one way or another, unless they seek us out to do so. It also doesn't change our obligation to act towards them in a way consistent with our beliefs.

Finally, it can't be concealed that faith can be a powerful force for good as well as evil. As a rule of thumb, be cautious of those who are overly enthusiastic about their faith - fanatics are easy to manipulate for malevolent purposes. Likewise those who revile religion, hate is rarely a sign of an inquiring mind and generous soul.

I hope you grow to find the same joy in faith as I have, and that it forever provides a deep comfort as you navigate life by the light of its star.