Margaret Silf is a popular retreat leader, a columnist for America magazine, and a prolific author of many books including At Sea with God. She believes that our relationship with God provides us with meaning and purpose and also is an outlet for God's grace and love. In other words, it's a two-way street. One of the major challenges of Christian faith is to discern the Divine presence in everyday life. Or as Malcolm Muggeridge put it:
"Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message."
Another challenge of faith is to honor the awesome Mystery of the Holy One who is above and beyond our reason and comprehension. Jesus, too, escapes from the prison of logic and dogmatism. As Silf writes: "Jesus is the one who lives completely true to the Father's dream for humanity."
A person of faith is both a meaning-maker and someone who wants to make a difference in the world. To do so, we seek out faith communities and soul friends to help us on these two missions. Silf concludes that the true Christian spirit is not in being saved but in allowing ourselves to be completely spent in service of others.
