Our Hearts and minds drawn for a purpose
A Mission "Becoming" in us
Something happening in the world that began when we were in Greece - in Halkidiki and Thessaloniki. While we were having our own hearts and minds drawn to the places of Paul, just as he was drawn to them by The Spirit, the "drawing" experience somehow changed us. Without trying we seemed to come across people "being drawn" to us and us to them, and without us or them knowing why. Thessaloniki had a magnetism to it. We were drawn to help old and new Christians come and see the places where the Holy Spirit was with the early Christians. This vague idea developed into an aspiration. MOST definitely not to evangelise or preach or convert, but simply to share. To let others know. To come to the places of Paul. But really it was not simply Paul but actually to all the places of The Holy Spirit.
Hearts and Minds Drawn
Drawn to the places of The Holy Spirit with Paul, we found ourselves in the company of something much bigger. It then became even clearer that the real mission was not just the Spirit with Paul, but the places of The Spirit with Christ in Palestine. And later with Peter in Italy; and Thomas in India. This was quite a crowd we were in. This was a good crowd. We didn't really know what was happening, or why. We had arrived with no plans to meet any crowds!! Let alone this new crowd - of at least three, and the apostles.
Going with Being Drawn
We felt an easy willingness to go with the flow. Questioning and puzzling constantly - as is my nature - I asked: was this just our own egos? Our aims? Our agenda? But accompanying this were also random moments of smiles of incredulity and excitement and enthusiasm. We let ourselves go in this direction. Go with the flow. To "come and see" where it would lead, with doubts sure, but also feeling a trust that it will all come good in the end.
Let it be so.
We were in the middle of surrendering our hands and minds but most importantly our hearts too. If not yet fully surrendering our doubts. It felt not dissimilar to falling in love: it's not logical, rational, explainable, financial, even sometimes sensible! But it feels "right". You just "know", and so you go with the flow of your hope-filled, love-filled heart. Love is a thing you can't see or weigh or experiment on in a lab. Yet it exists. For sure. Most often between parents and their kids and quite often between lovers, it turns out to be just right. And it is consequently the strongest most beautiful thing on the planet
"Simple" reality
When examined it is often far from simple. It was like our ordinary human perception could not grasp the sound of the place we were in. Just as music: carried in the air; striking our mechanical ear; mind; our mind's ear; and on to our mind's other senses of joy and appreciation of form and beauty. Finally beyond awareness into somewhere in our human-consciousness that is capable of "feeling" most deeply. That band above could do this. Poetry can do the same. As can visual arts. And not forgetting maths or physics... We were here, now, in that place beyond in our human consciousness. Feeling something in our hearts greater than ourselves, getting us to fall in love.
Us Doubting Thomas'
Well anyone can see why, anyone in modern times would doubt. This was us: "no saints, but sinners who keep trying" (Mandela); us having this insight; mere us. With our mere abilities. Eventually, we found ourselves beginning - without any prior intent or knowledge or particular longing, to set up an organisation with a very specific name and one specific purpose. We fell in and out of doubt but kept coming back, and each time a little more certain.
Trust borne out of this primordial mission soup
By our own experience of being in the places of Paul and The Holy Spirit we could grasp one clarity: Christ and His mission and that of the Apostles, when you really see the magnitude of it, is like no other before or after Him, ever in the history of any movement of humanity or of any son of man. This grasp of clarity that came from being in the places of The Spirit, we trusted. And trusted it is a journey worth replicating for other Christians, for them to "Come, and See"; for them to experience; and to grasp the magnitude of their unlikely achievement
"Seems impossible until it's done" said Mandela from his prison cell. Perhaps Paul thought the same from his.
We were beginning to think it from our hotel room.
(see Inspired To Create )
