The Story of the Wanderers

If you've never read this journal before, start from the beginning.

So, a story. I think I've mentioned it before. This is an image I've carried around in my head for more than a year now. It's something I felt compelled to write while at a camp, where I think I felt the most at home among Christians that I have in my entire life, and where I felt close to God. It's more of an image than a story, and the image is a familiar one. It is representative of something else, not literal. Don't take it literally, please.

 Before I begin, imagine a place with just enough light that it is not totally dark, that people are wandering - that you are wandering - in that darkness. The ground is rocky some places and smooth other places. The sky has no stars or moon, and you don't know hunger or thirst. You just want something, something you can't explain. And you feel "lonely in your skin." You're a wanderer. You carry with you a mirror, facing out.

With the scene set, I'll tell the story.

Once upon a time there was a land set all in darkness. The people who lived in that land were wanderers, searching for something they could not explain. They wandered in the darkness all their lives, often stumbling, never knowing what light was or imagining its power, because how could they have imagined something so wonderful. But a few, in their wanderings, came upon the One Great Light, which warmed them and showed them where the stumbling blocks lay. And when they came near to the Light it reflected from their mirror. Those who came upon the Light ran back to their fellow wanderers, telling them of the brilliance they had seen, the warmth they had felt, the clarity they had experienced.

They wrote book after book in many languages, in many places, describing the light, and the stumbling blocks the light had revealed. The wanderers were no longer aimlessly searching for something they could not imagine, they were searching for those who had seen the Light, and some of them searched for the Light Itself. Years passed, and the light burned on in the darkness, and more people saw the light, but most had not. Most had heard of the Light's power.

 Some scorned it as legend, some feared it, some worshiped it, and some used the name of the Light and its teachings to cause the wanderers to rise up against eachother, to blame eachother, to hate eachother. Still others used the teachings of the Light to become guides to their fellow wanderers, to help them on the rocky path. But still all was in darkness.

One day, a new wanderer came, but instead of a mirror he carried a Torch lit by the One Great Light. He went into the world, carrying the light, and brought back with him several who had followed him down a path that, though it was dangerous, led to the smoother, brighter ground of the Light. The wanderer returned the Torch to the Light, but he first showed the other wanderers how to reflect the Light into the world with their mirrors. This did what words could not do. It dazzled the eyes and lit the paths of the other wanderers, and they reflected it on. Still some mirrors distorted the light, changed its purity, but still the Light is reflected on, making the world less dim. And the path the mirrors make lead to the One Great Light, whose radiance we wanderers still seek.

The Light is God, and God, in part, is Love. The wanderers are our minds, our souls, and the mirrors are our hearts. We are all wanderers. The torch-bearing wanderer is Jesus. This is the image, and it raises many questions.

First is this: How do we know whether the image we have seen is distorted?

We don't. We can never know that. Our hearts are imperfect, including mine. All prophets have had mirrors. Only Jesus had a torch, and he didn't write the Bible. We try to reflect the light truly, but we all must know that it may not be exactly as it seems in its reflection. Distortion or not, we must follow the path of mirrors we can find, until we at last see with our own minds what power the Great Light posesses, and we must all understand it for ourselves. However, to follow the first path we see without question is never wise. It may lead farther from the Light. We must think and pray as we travel through the darkness and uncertainty. Words and mirrors will never be enough to guide us. We have to get up and walk.

What are the obstacles?

Obviously, sin is an obstacle, and it is one that we must stumble over ourselves. Everyone stumbles unless they have a torch. That is without exception. Another obvious obstacle is fear. It is a fear I know all too well. How will my life change? Will I relfect truly? Will it be what I thought it would be? Am I closer or farther? This is an obstacle, and it is very serious. Another obstacle the wanderers created for themselves was both good and bad. The words. They were the only guide available, of course, but blind belief leads to blind believers. Corrupt wanderers used the words to their own benefit. Well, the words were still of great value, but it is necesary to realize that you may still stumble over them. The same with the mirrors. Some may cast more shadow than light. Caution is necesary, but don't let your caution get in the way of your belief in God. Put your faith in the Light, not the words or the reflection. God exists above all the uncertainty. Nothing can make that much untrue.

Why would the Light not move to each of the people?

I don't know. But I can tell you that the journey to the Light holds the most important lessons, and the longer you work at something the more valuable it is. And reflecting the light to the wanderers is the greatest act of love there is, and it has rewards beyond what we could ever expect or deserve. It is a great gift to be able to not only recieve love and look at love, but also to give it. It is the greatest gift. It is the Most Important Thing. Love is Light, and that love is the Light of all men, and the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never conquer it.