labyrinth...

I watched the movie “Troy” awhile back, and it stayed with me. I think what is interesting about the story is that each hero and villain have a dichotomy of success. You may ask what am I saying in that? Simply that each person both good and bad go through a myriad of success and failure, and in the end although all have had victory and loss, no one really seems to win. That is at least how it seems to a North American mind of which we think, all works toward getting from where we are, to our next success or progression in life, the goal being to get there.
I have been doing a lot of thinking in that regard. As I read from authors that challenge and not simply say what I would have regurgitated into my life and specifically read the bible from that mind set, to grow me, not simply to pat my lifestyle on the back, another way of looking at life surfaces. It is a lifestyle which says the goal is not to get from here to there, but more appropriately to live in the now, and that the success is in the victories and failures, and living in them.
As Richard Rohr says,”western civilization does not want to believe life is a labyrinth or maze. But in Chartres Cathedral in France one can see that Christianity once did understand the appropriateness of the myth. Right in the center aisle of the cathedral, directly before the altar is a labyrinth. We cannot see the altar until we cope with the labyrinth”. I really believe this is a picture of life, the altar being Heaven and the labyrinth being life as we live now. I think often we think we need to get through the labyrinth to get to God, however I am becoming more and more convinced that in this life, it is within the labyrinth that we meet God, that as we walk with Jesus the labyrinth is in fact God, at work in our lives. This meaning as with any labyrinth where there are 2 steps forward and maybe 3 back, that whether we are seemingly having victory or failure, according to our society, all can be success in God’s labyrinth of life. This is provided as Paul says that we keep our eyes upon Jesus as per Hebrews 13:2,”Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross,(steps backwards*) scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”. Perhaps then we can process this life a little bit more like Jesus understanding as per Philippians 4:12-13 having, “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed(steps forward*) or hungry(steps backwards*), whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength”.
*steps backward according to a society that says success is progressing from here to there as quickly as possible with out hardship in this life.