Following Jesus in a Wider World
There was a time when my faith came neatly packaged.
At Bible college, I was taught to see Scripture through a clear and structured lens:
- Genesis showed the need for redemption
- Israel became the channel of redemption
- The Gospels revealed the purchase of redemption
- Acts proclaimed it
- The Epistles explained it
- Revelation completed it
It was simple. Ordered. Certain.
And for a while, it worked.
But life has a way of asking questions that outlines cannot answer.
🌿 When the Edges Begin to Soften
As the years passed—through loss, love, disappointment, and growth—I began to read the Bible differently.
Not as a single, seamless voice dictated from heaven…
but as a collection of voices reaching toward God.
I saw:
- Job questioning
- The Psalmists crying out
- Prophets wrestling
- Disciples misunderstanding
- Paul and James approaching faith from different angles
What I once saw as perfect uniformity, I now saw as something more human—and perhaps more beautiful:
A record of humanity struggling to understand God.
And in that struggle, I began to recognize my own.
🌍 A Wider Horizon
This shift led me to a deeper realization:
If the Bible reflects humanity’s search for God…
then perhaps it is not the only place where that search has been written.
Across the world and throughout history, people have:
- Prayed
- Reflected
- Written
- Sought meaning
God has been known by many names.
And in many sacred writings, I began to notice something familiar—echoes of truth:
- Love matters
- Mercy matters
- Justice matters
- Pride and selfishness lead to brokenness
- Humanity longs for connection with something greater
Different cultures. Different languages.
Yet something shared beneath it all.
This did not weaken my faith.
It humbled it.
⚖️ Letting Go of Certainty, Holding On to Truth
There was a time when I felt the need to decide which view was right and defend it.
Now I am less interested in winning arguments
and more interested in recognizing truth.
I no longer believe that any one tradition fully contains the mystery of God.
But I do believe this:
Truth leaves fingerprints everywhere.
And wisdom is found in learning to recognize those fingerprints—
not just in one place, but wherever they appear.
✝️ Why I Choose to Follow Jesus
And yet, in the midst of this wider view, I have not drifted without direction.
I have found my center.
I still choose to follow Jesus Christ.
Not because I have all the answers.
Not because I claim exclusive understanding.
But because in Him, I see the clearest picture of God I have ever known.
When I look at Jesus, I see:
- Compassion for the outsider
- Courage in the face of power
- Grace extended without condition
- Truth spoken without fear
- Love lived out in action
And I find myself saying:
“If this is what God is like, then this is the way I want to walk.”
🌿 Beyond the Label
So today, I find myself choosing different words.
I no longer feel the need to define myself primarily by the label Christian—
a word that has come to mean many things depending on who is using it.
Instead, I choose something simpler.
Something more personal.
I choose to be a follower of Jesus.
Not a defender of systems.
Not a guardian of certainty.
But a pilgrim…
learning, growing, seeking…
and walking, however imperfectly, in His way.
🌅 A Pilgrim’s Reflection
Perhaps the Bible was never meant to end the conversation,
but to invite us into it.
Perhaps faith is not about holding the right answers,
but about continuing the journey with honesty and humility.
And perhaps God—
who has been sought in many places and called by many names—
is still willing to meet us
right where we are.
🙏 A Closing Prayer
Jesus,
Not just a name I claim,
but a life I long to follow—
Teach me Your way.
When I am certain, give me humility.
When I am searching, give me courage.
When I am lost, give me light.
Help me to recognize truth wherever it appears,
and to live it with grace.
And in all my wandering,
keep drawing me closer to You.
Amen.
The Curious Pilgrim 
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