Stairway To Heaven (The Message) Part 2

Continuation from Part 1

Spiritual Obstacles (And No, Not The Ones That Are Constantly Preached)

The spiritual journey is filled with obstacles, and a lot of them are placed by the very ones who are supposed to help you out during that long journey. There are many that claim to be Christian, but are much more concerned with fulfilling political ambitions of control than reaching out to meet the spiritual needs of people.

These obstacles will not stop there. There are many who are supposed to be resourceful guides, but yet, are more concerned with numbers and building mega-churches than whether one gets a deep, fulfilling spiritual experience. Essentially, a show designed to pump people up, but doesn’t provide lasting fulfillment. Many are not concerned about the spiritual well being of the individual, but about corporate worship and show. Many don't have a issue with institutionalized religion. However, there isn't a one size fits all approach, and a individual's spiritual well-being and there walk with Christ could be hindered by feeling obligated to follow rituals for the sake of following rituals, and not out of the love of Jesus.

On TV, one encounters the Televangelist. In the eyes of many, several appear to be more like entertainers and showmen then preachers and priest. Hop on the stage, and boom! Your magically healed in front of millions on TV. If you love this, pull out your credit card and start draining it. Many of these Televangelist appear more willing to build there own cult personality then they are about reflecting there love of Jesus or enhancing a person's spiritual walk.

Donating/tithing to a church is important, but the love of God is forgotten when money become the top priority.

Televangelist are causing horrific amounts of damage to Christianity, but yet blame secularism for their shortcomings and issues. One could perceive them as the ones that abandoned the very journey that they were suppose to embrace, but yet, act like they know the route like the back of there hand. These groups of people will hinder a person’s spiritual walk with Jesus rather than enhance it. A person wants to be sure before they ask for help from them, because sometimes, words can have two meanings.

Shaping Our Beliefs

On our road-trip, one starts to get a much deeper appreciation for our travel guide. On this trip, we realize that Jesus is a very interesting person who has diverse interest and is deeply spiritual. Jesus reminds us that he demonstrates the love that he does because he's God's Son. To say that he's extremely intelligent is an understatement. He has beliefs that anyone can admire. He has really strong compassion for the poor. He constantly reminds us on our journey that there are many who are a lot less fortunate than we are. He provides the path for the stairway to Heaven, and all we have to do is listen. It's our calling within his ministry to recognize the needs of the less fortunate and reach out to them as best as we can. We have compassion and help those in need. He makes us aware that we share a planet with billions of people. There is going to be a lot of need, and there will be those wanted that will have the compassion to fulfill those needs. We become firm in our belief in Christ, but avoid the us-vs.-them mentality, as the world becomes unnecessarily harsher when it doesn't have to be. There is already much suffering to begin with.

During the journey, we recognize that Jesus hates sin. With that said, Jesus also knows that people will make mistakes. As a result, we are to put are trust and faith in him and avoid those temptations when possible. Jesus does recognize the temptations that ones faces because he encountered those temptations himself. When we do make mistakes and confess them to him, he is willing to embrace us as a personal friend. Jesus wants us to conquer our sins. At the same time, he calls on us to embrace sinners and reach out to there spiritual needs. He knows of the pain that one goes through. Good times, bad times, you know we had our share. That's why he calls on us to have compassion for those who sinned. It would be extremely off color to treat sinners as hopeless degenerates that shouldn't be helped. With Jesus, nobody is beyond forgiveness, and he embraces people with love.

Asking questions is important, as it leads to a spiritual evaluation. We learn about the teachings of Jesus in greater detail. We also learn about how we apply Jesus’s teachings in the modern age. In asking these questions, Jesus is able to shape out own beliefs. One ask captivating questions to deal with the perceived contradictions and conflicting views. Questions that aren’t there for confrontation, but to lead to a deeper understanding of religion, morality, and ethics. Questions that are designed to make people think, question, and debate to deal with these perceived contradictions.

Questions are important as they can deal with contradictions with several believing Christians. Is there a contradiction when someone declares that there pro-life, but doesn’t show concern for innocent children killed in drone strikes in the Middle East. Are a person’s views about religious extremism contradicted for those who are quick to condemn Radical Islam, but ignore White-Supremacy, Neo-Nazi’s, the Westboro Baptist Church and other extremist/radical/fundamentalist groups? Are a person’s views on morality contradicted when they were quick to condemn and ready to crucify one person’s actions in the 90’s, but overlook another person’s actions today? Does Science contradict or complement Christianity. One would ask a question about evolution. One of the other spiritual guides would call it a pointless spiritual topic as where one descended biologically eons ago is pointless to a person’s spiritual well-being today, which is of most importance. Are the defining attributes of Jesus forgotten when people aren't content with spirituality and embrace political ambitions.

It’s with these questions and others that one wonders how Jesus would have applied his teachings in the modern age. The responses to these questions help shape a person's spiritual walk, and applies looking at issues affecting Christians in a deeper understanding without taking things at face-value. It's also important, not only for Christians, but for anyone for that matter, to always question and be inquisitive. Discussion and debate. I don't even want people to take the words that I typed for this article at face value either. Question it. Pray to Jesus and read the Bible and discussion with various church leaders on topics of interest to Christianity. It's when one does this that they realize what’s important in the Christian walk and what’s pointless banter designed to distract. Distracts are counterproductive to getting to the Stairway to Heaven.

Sometimes, Things Can Be So Empty

They’re places during that journey where things can feel empty. Like on a road-trip where one drives through a stretch of highway through the Great Plains and feel that there is nothing noteworthy. This isn't necessarily bad though. One can't live through perpetual activity and commotion. One has to recharge their batteries and spend some time in spiritual purgatory and rest before re-embarking on their journey. Can cars run forever without refueling? Many look at rest of spiritual defeatism and a sign of weakness. The body needs to rest, both spiritual and physically. Anyone advocating constant sprinting is asking for a burnout. One where they don't care about the journey anymore.

At The End Of The Day

And as we wind down the road, we realize that the spiritual trip to the Stairway to Heaven has many sights and stops. Luckily, one doesn't have to travel through the land of the ice and snow. There were interesting conversations that lasted hours on end. Conversations can help a person shape a person’s path to Heaven. Jesus provides us with the energy to that declare dancing days are here again. On this journey, we realize that taking directions from the wrong person can lead to a detour. However, even this isn't necessarily bad, because detours are part of the experience that help build our character. Once we get to the Stairway to Heaven, we can enter the House of the Holy. At the end of the day, one embarks on this spiritual quest so that they can have a deeper understanding of Jesus, who he is, and what’s he’s about. At the end of the day, the spiritual relationship of the journey is precious, and the time spent as well.