This was the question directed at me by a college student after having recently taught class for Denver Urban Semester. The question fit the subject matter I was teaching which was the biblical notion of the wilderness. We studied the characters of Moses, Hagar, Balaam, as well as Jesus and we discussed how each of these characters encountered the transformative yet disorienting zone known in the scriptures simply as wilderness.
As part of the teaching I often show a clip from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland where Alice reaches a critical turning point in her life. She’s confused by her circumstances and in that confusion she decides to follow a talking rabbit, which leads her tumbling down into the dream world of wonderland. What I tell the students, all of whom are between the ages of 20-23, is that this is the realistic terrain of the spiritual journey.
The college years can be a lot like falling down the rabbit hole into a world of seeming contradictions and unforeseen dilemmas. It’s often the first time we are confronted with what we actually believe as opposed to what we think we are supposed to believe. As we leave the fantasy-like realm of adolescense behind we begin to wonder, “What is the gospel of Christ, really?
And I don’t think we have to be college students to appreciate this struggle it’s just that those are the years we likely begin to allow ourselves to be thoroughly confused about our faith.
Since the student asked that important question I've been reflecting more this week on the response I gave...
What if confusion isn't evil, but is more like a messenger, an angel sent to accompany you?
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