…the weapon he used to transform the world was love.

The moment we begin to believe we have got something about God figured out with certainty is the moment we can be sure we are no longer speaking about God.

When we are able to systematise and theologise God down to a set of absolute theological principles, I believe that we lose something essential. When our faith becomes nothing more than a stagnant creed or unchanging statement of belief, we lose sight of the majesty and glory of God, the mystery and diversity that gives vibrancy to our faith.

Wonder is the antidote to religion.

But when we are willing to walk in the way of Love, to embody the light of Christ to everyone we encounter, we open ourselves to see and understand the journeys of so many other people…we not only honour the perspective and experience of our brother or sister, but we…learn and have our eyes opened to a new way of being. Because our big, wild and diverse God is at work in millions of systems, philosophies, cultures, religions and people beyond our own.

But part of loving is sacrificing our ego's need to be right. Part of loving is realising that all of us are on the same journey, seeking the same things, but find ourselves at different places. When we are able to acknowledge and accept this reality; we are freed from the desire to force others into our systems, our beliefs and our points of view.

…even if I discover that I don't particularly like or agree with them, I still can see that they are human beings, just like me. They are not an idea. They are not a concept. They are a real, living and breathing human being who is just trying to figure everything out, just like I am.

So eventually, our mutual ignorance of each other's faith cancelled each other out and we found ourselves at a stalemate, a common ground beyond our misunderstandings, where we could begin a healthy and open dialogue about the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam… but our face to face dialogues helped us begin to comprehend with some degree of clarity what the other group actually believed.

How easy it is for us to demonise from a distance. But when we stand face to face with our supposed enemy, it is hard to hate.

…Jesus spent more time eating, drinking and lounging with 'tax collectors and sinners' than explaining the Roman Roadmap to Heaven or undermining their belief system.

What are we to do when we seem to grow out of God? Or at least the understanding of God that we grew up with?

Allowing myself to wander off into the vast jungles of religion and spirituality has often led to me stumbling upon life altering new ways of thinking, living, and being.

But it's only when we allow ourselves to get lost that we can have the opportunity to find and be found.

…those who are the most confident are often those who don't have any fun.

If they're not willing to explore beyond the realm of their safety, certainty, and comfort, they will never know if their fantasies are true.

What if one's tendency to go wandering off is truly a gift? What if the driving force beneath the curiosity that leads a person to wander off the beaten path is not immaturity, but the wild, untamable Spirit of God, drawing them into the foliage to be refined, to discover fresh insights, and pioneer a new way forward for a new group of people?

…for exploring beyond the boundaries that I had been taught to stay within.

I have come to see that exploration is not a practice of the unfaithful, but rather is exactly what being a follower of Christ is actually all about.

…because he was far more interested in allowing his disciples to cultivate a relationship and trust with and in him than leading them to a place of "arrival".

We no longer find out identity or value in having the right theology or being a part of the right denomination.

We no longer find our identity or value in having the right theology or being a part of the right denomination.

Traveling light gives me a way to set down what would otherwise be the baggage of someone else' decision to cling to well-worn path.