It is perfectly natural not to know the way. Nobody (apart from Jesus) has gone beyond this life and come back to tell us what it is like. In fact, I am decidedly nervous of people who claim to have absolute certainty in their lives. And even more nervous when they seek to impose this certainty on other people.
We walk our lives in faith, trusting God that we are going in the right direction. Faith implies a certain amount of agnosticism—of not knowing entirely. This does not mean that we go through life in an existential “dwaal”. Rather, we have assurance and confidence, knowing that the realities we place our trust in are neither visible nor guaranteed. Like Thomas, an apostle with intellectual integrity, we allow ourselves some questions and do not try to suppress our
doubts.
This is why Pope Francis was insistent that Christians be people who discern, who listen to what is going on in the world, who try to read the movements of God’s Holy Spirit in a confusing and often contradictory era. We should always seek the way the Spirit of God is leading us, and be docile to the promptings of our heart and mind.
Sometimes events come our way to make us completely rethink and reorient ourselves. Rather than taking this as a betrayal or apostasy, can we not consider that God is profoundly revealing to us another direction? After all, conversion is nothing less than a complete change in my life. And conversion does not happen only once in our lives. As we develop in maturity and insight, we look back and see that our journey has taken us on many and diverse roads.
How worried am I that I don’t have complete certainty over every dimension of my life?
When have I had to place my trust completely in God?
How does my discerning attitude show itself?
