Labyrinths and the Christian Life

We got a Guideposts Magazine in the mail today. We have a subscription from Brad’s Aunt Cora. There’s an article there about prayer labyrinths. The oldest prayer labyrinth in the world is in the cathedral at Chartres in France and is 813 years old. Most prayer labyrinths do not have multiple possible choices of direction, but each path will lead to the center or back out again. One simply follows the path as it approaches and recedes from the center in the faith that it will eventually lead to the middle. In the labyrinth in Chartres, there used to be a brass medallion in the center of Theseus battling the minotaur from Greek mythology. (It was melted down during the Napoleonic era to make cannons.) The myth was a symbol of the battle between Christ and Satan. Maze scholar Craig Wright is quoted, “The myth of the maze expresses the hope of salvation—that eternal life will be won for all by the actions of the one savior.”
I think this is a wonderful symbol of the Christian life. When we follow Christ in faith, we don’t always see how it is we are getting closer to God. Sometimes, we may not even be able to see God. At the center of our Salvation is the struggle between the Creator and the Destroyer. It should be no surprise that as we get closer to the center of our faith, we will encounter more and more instances of that struggle in our own lives. Christ himself has promised it.
Then men will arrest you and hand you over to be hurt and kill you. They will hate you because of me. At that time, many who believe in me will lose their faith. They will turn against each other and hate each other. Many false prophets will come and cause many people to believe false things. There will be more and more evil in the world. So most people will stop showing their love for each other. But the person who continues to be strong until the end will be saved. Matthew 24:9-13
Brad and I are trying to start a study group for our friends who are wanting to talk about God, but have been spooked by the hypocrisy and religiosity of the Church. They have had encounters with Christians that have left them wanting nothing to do with the organized Church and its hateful practices, but they want to learn more about Jesus. We want to have a group in our home with the intent of studying Christ and the Bible in a low-key and non-threatening way. We’d even be open to studying other religions with the purpose of respectfully comparing them to the claims of the Bible.
We were planning to start in February, and our downstairs got flooded with sewage in the past week. (See Brad’s blog referenced below.) Coincidence? I think not. Someone doesn’t want us doing this and is trying to distract us. I think we can expect other difficulties to crop up. Already, we have a much loved friend who is worried for our souls because we are delving into the post-modern mindset. This friend is a disciple of some highly publicized Christian leaders who freely slander and libel anyone who disagrees with them on faith issues. (See verse above. It’s to be expected in these times.) That’s not to say that there aren’t false teachers in the post-modern movement. I’d have to say that there are false teachers in the fundamentalist movement too, and one has to very carefully weigh the teachings of every leader balanced against the Bible—the whole Bible.
There is a prayer labyrinth locator on-line if you’re interested in visiting one. http://wwll.veriditas.labyrinthsociety.org/home