Uncharted: A Journey of Discovery

By John Paterson

This book takes over from where my first book left off. WHERE ARE YOU? Was about being able to know where you are on life’s journey. This second book is very much about the journey itself – the inner journey – which remains uncharted.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Jul 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781984506405

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Copyright © 2020 by John Paterson.

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CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

SECTION 1    WHAT IS THE CHRISTIAN LIFE?

Chapter 1    Uncharted Waters

Chapter 2    By Faith

Chapter 3    Dead Ends, Dangers, and Distractions

Chapter 4    The Christian Life

Chapter 5    Follow the Light

Overview of Section 1

SECTION 2    CAN IT BE LIVED?

Chapter 6    Our State of Being and Becoming

Chapter 7    A Journey of Discovery

Chapter 8    God, You, Me, and Us

Chapter 9    Operational Readiness: Living the Spiritual Life Now

Chapter 10    What Sustains Us?

Overview of Section 2

Conclusion

Appendix 1 to Chapter 2

Appendix 2 to Chapter 6

Reading List

Other books by the author:

Endorsem

ents

Brad Lawson

After I finished reading the manuscript for ‘Uncharted’ I said to John that I wanted a hardback copy of it to accompany me on my journey into uncharted waters. I can’t think that any follower of Christ won’t need exposure to the message of this book at some point in their journey of faith - through reading this book, or through someone who can share its message. I am fortunate to have had both! Having felt lost myself as to how to journey forward; conversations with John have been a precious gift from the Lord. To have the material of those conversations now faithfully written in a book is another precious gift! All I can say is thank you God, and thank you John. Bon Voyage!

Brad is a follower of Jesus and on the leadership of RiverDove Community Church, Lismore.

John Kidson

This book is an engaging work, no mere personal testimony! For the glory of God, for the benefit of readers, John Paterson, oozes the pain and joy of personal experiences. From his learnings, failings and achievements, John has crafted a mighty work - a practical guide for any seriously intent on discovering the real way ahead.

The Rev’d John Kidson. Former youth worker and University Chaplain. John is currently Minister, Tregeagle Anglican Church, Grafton Diocese.

Mark Sommerfeld

I have found Uncharted to be a refreshing clarion call to the church to examine ourselves as to what it means to be a disciple of Christ. The book challenges us to look at our walk with God and ensure that it is indeed a walk with God. The interweaving of John’s life stories bring a down to earth touch as it raises issues that strike to the core of our being and our call to walk with God. Not often can one read a book that raises serious matters without getting bogged down in theological language that might be better suited to philosophers and their like. At the same time this book cuts across so much of what the West emphasises in so much of contemporary preaching today, and as such, offers an antidote to a me centred gospel, that is desperately needed. As we now stand at a time where the whole world has been shaken by a virus I am reminded of the book of Hebrews 12:26-29 where it states that God is in the habit of shaking all things so that only the unshakable remains. And concludes, Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."

Mark has served as assistant pastor. He is an avid reader with a heart of service to the Gospel of Jesus. He often leads worship and brings a message to One-in-Christ Fellowship at the Lismore Soup Kitchen.

Robert McCheyne

I first met John Paterson in 2015 and two things immediately attracted me to him – he was exRAN (I have been interested in all things naval since my school days) and I was struck by his love for all people he came into contact with. But he showed the greatest love for people committed to Christ, whom he called ‘his fellow travellers’. His book Uncharted, A Journey of Discovery is a natural follow on from John’s first book Where Are You? Searching the Unknown to Make It Known. Both books reflect, accurately, John’s beliefs and life.

A quote from Page 50, for me, summarises this book. The Christian life is walking in the footsteps of Jesus. Many have expressed this truth. It’s not following from a distance to see if the journey will be safe and go well. It’s not being able to survey the lie of the land so as to pick an easier, safer, more comfortable way…… It is honouring the Father through being like His Son, enabled by his power in the Spirit. The Christian life is a journey home. For me it also summarises, perfectly, John’s own life. Now that I am a good bit past my three score years and ten and am in what is called the ‘vulnerable aged group’, from John’s book I have received encouragement to finish the race like the end of a 100m sprint as opposed to a gentle stroll and know that my God is great and He is caringly guiding me to that end. My prayer is that as you read through this book you will feel the encouragement I have felt and that we will all end up standing face-to-face in Glory with our Great God.

Robert taught physics and mathematics in three countries. He was Acting Assistant Secretary for Education, Eastern Highlands Province, PNG now retired. Robert serves as an elder in the Lismore Baptist Church.

PREFACE

I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.

—Robert Frost, ‘The Road Not Taken’

There are some who, when faced with two paths, will always choose the one less travelled. I am not one of them – most of the time. Show me the safe and more secure way that appears well trodden and worn by many who have gone before, the way that is smooth and inviting, that has been checked out and offers an easy passage, and I will choose it most times. Yet there is also something in me that seeks the best road to travel. It encourages me to choose the good way and walk it. Sometimes that same something deep within me entices me right up to the brink of where danger and excitement seem to reside and invites me to leap into the unknown. Do you ever have either of these senses – wanting to be travelling the good way and also looking for excitement?

Cedar Creek Falls near Proserpine in North Queensland offers a good example of taking things to the edge. I spent most of my childhood years growing up in the Proserpine/Whitsunday area of far north Queensland. As a youth, probably from age 11 onwards, I loved to stand on the edge of a rock at the top of the falls, mesmerised by the cascading water rushing over the slippery rocks and falling over forty feet to the deep pool at the bottom of the cliff face. Then when I knew people were watching, I would fly off as far out as I could before curling downwards to dive into the cool bronze waters of the swimming hole below, conscious of the eyes following me with amazement and admiration.

Something edgy in me goads me, Go on, take a risk. And after leaping into the unknown – what an exhilarating feeling – there comes a charge of adrenaline. I find that can be very addictive, particularly when it is accompanied with the attention and admiration of others. But this is not my normal way of being, and neither does it provide the assurance that I will be OK, which I mostly seek from life. There is always the uncertainty and the awareness of risk and knowing that things don’t always turn out well – and I am so glad when they do. I am sure there are many of you who have experienced both the adrenaline rush of risk-taking and the desire for assurance in the things that offer certainty in a comfortable and secure life. And I am sure you have also experienced both the exhilaration of an exciting venture that has a great outcome and the disappointment which accompanies the consequences of a venture gone wrong. Life’s like that sometimes.

In my previous life as a hydrographic surveyor, whenever we proceeded into uncharted waters, the opportunity always presented for things to go either way. Sometimes in life, no matter where we have come from or wherever we are, we just seem to know that, somehow, we have to make our way from here – where we are – to somewhere there – where we want to be. And we also know that the journey or passage from here to there will take us through uncharted waters, but we don’t know how that journey will go or even if it will be safe.

Right now, I know where I am – I am here. I also know where I need to be – I know my destination. I want to go there because I know it will be great when I get there. Even as I am writing this second book, I am already suspecting that the journey ahead will take me into uncharted waters as did the first book. I know now that the passage will be difficult at times, but when I arrive at the end, it will be very satisfying – not the book so much because others will determine that, rather the journey itself. In a similar sense, I often find myself wondering about what lies ahead as I go forward into the unknown of my Christian faith journey. What will I discover as I venture to live this life by faith? Will I be safe? Will it go well?

How Are We to Live This Christian Life?

In Ephesians chapters 4 to 6, Paul urges the Christian community (us) ‘to live a life worthy of our call’ (4:1). We are to do this in humility and unity in whatever circumstance that threatens our togetherness ‘until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ’ (4:13). In this way, we become light penetrating the darkness of the world that does not know Christ. To do this, we must put off the old self and put on the self-made new in the attitudes of our minds and in the living way shown to us through Jesus.

Paul makes it crystal clear – be ‘imitators of God’ and live a life of love, ‘just as Christ loved us’ (5:1–2). Christians know that being holy is being set apart for God’s kingdom and acting as willing instruments of His righteousness, which as Jesus showed us is countercultural to the way of the world. Have you come to that understanding also? We do the will of God from our heart (6:6) and not from any selfish motive or sense of self-accomplishment. Given the conflicting nature of our heart – the battle that goes on between the flesh and the spirit – surely this verse alone is enough to ensure that we access and understand what is going on down there – in our heart? The real battle is not against one another but against the powers of darkness both within and outside our hearts (verse 2) – and this battle predates humanity.

So the battle between good and evil is real and continues to cause destruction, chaos, and damage. This is still what we are facing in our time. Christians are Christ’s ‘called-out ones’. They are God’s people and, as such, are the ones called to represent Christ here on the earth, shining God’s light, being His presence, showing that His goodness towards us is real love. When God’s goodness flows relationally between people – giving, inviting, receiving, and serving one another – this is true goodness, and we can call it true love. But no one will listen to us – not our wives, husbands, loved ones, children, community, or friends – unless we are living what we say we believe. Will we? Can we?

It is my humble understanding that, in Jesus, God is showing us human beings that we need both His grace and truth – Jesus came with grace and truth (John 1:14, 17) – to help us understand that He wants a relationship at a ‘heart’ level and to show us what a life of holy righteousness looks like. We need His grace and mercy because He understands the flawed human nature and wants us to know that without Him, we cannot actually live the life we most deeply desire. And we need His truth so that we realise who He truly is and who the Father is. When we understand both God’s mercy and truth (about Himself), believing that He has our ultimate good at heart, we will earnestly desire to know Him intimately. And only then will we trust Him implicitly and truly want to live the authentic Christian life, displaying God’s glory that He has given to us for that very purpose (John 17:22). It is for this very reason that we need His supernatural grace because we cannot live the true Christian life through our own strength and natural capacities. But with Him, we can live it fully and abundantly (Matthew 19:26, John 10:10).

What’s Going on in Our Heart?

If I said God is spirit, I reckon I would hardly hear a murmur of contradiction because that’s what the Bible says. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that God is a relational God because that is what He is trying to tell us. Hardly anyone I know disputes this. We are made in the ‘image and likeness’ of God. Christians know that’s true because the Bible says so. But when I speak with some Christians and put all three sayings together, proposing that we are spiritual beings made like God – but not God – who have an eternal destiny to be with Him and other Christians in a relationship that starts now and goes on forever, sometimes I experience kickback, almost like a cautious hesitancy that tends towards defensiveness. Have you ever wondered why that might be so?

During these last thirty years, I have focused on what Paul Tillich calls ‘matters of ultimate concern’ about the Christian faith, seeking, searching, and groping to understand what it means to be a Christian, what the actual Christian life looks like, and how we live it. I am convinced that, as a spiritual being made in the image of a relational God, who is only a sojourner here on the earth for (let’s face it) only a speck in time when measured against eternity, living the Christian life calls me to search the depths that lie underneath the surface of a superficial and hectic life. I’ve needed to sound below the surface and underneath the turbid layer that’s confusing and messy and far too shallow to sustain me to the deeper parts of myself. I have gone to the depth layers – to the parts of me that we refer to as our heart, our core centre, our very soul. I must go to the deepest parts of me to find who I am as a person in Christ to live the Christian life, and so must you – if that’s what you desire.

Two Thoughts

Allow me to offer you two thoughts. The first thought poses two questions: What does it mean to be a Christian in our time? And what role does the Spirit have in this? What I believe is worth thinking about is that if a Christian is indeed to be set apart from culture and live a life imitating Christ Jesus, then will God require us to live this life without empowering us to actually be able to live it? Conversely, if the Spirit’s power is active and available to us, then surely we are to be living the Christian life?

The second thought I will offer you is about the supernatural world. How you think about this will depend on whether you believe you are an earthly being having a spiritual experience or a spiritual being having an earthly experience.¹ This is important because whichever one you choose will have a major influence on what life you live, as well as how you live it.

Why Are These Matters Important?

Well, naturally, secular humanistic and atheistic ideas and values are naturalistic – but so is much of liberal theology, and it’s a theology that stands on a human understanding of the universe. Therefore, much of this theology does not recognise, let alone acknowledge, the supernatural. Herein lies our problem. If the ‘heavenlies’ are either irrelevant or such a long way off so as not to matter to us in this life, then our part in any battle, cooperation, or participation with God becomes unimportant. All we need to do is to go about our earthly life until we die, and then God will bring us home. It’s almost like we say to God, ‘All right, God, I’ll do you a favour and join your club. It’s your role to bless my life so that it goes well, and when I’m too old to enjoy it anymore, you can beam me up.’ But from Jesus’ announcement at the beginning of His ministry (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15) through to when He walked on water, calmed the natural elements, brought people back from the dead, transfigured on the mountain (Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36, 2 Peter 1:16–18), and resurrected, we are given sufficient understanding – if we are paying attention – that the supernatural world is not a far-off place. In God’s reality, it is actually very, very near. Jesus told us this Himself (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15).

This is why the matter of the Christian life is so important to me and, I hope, to you. It sets up a battle between the spiritual and the natural – an inside-out battle. When a person becomes a Christian, they pick a fight. If the Christian is ever going to have any reasonable chance of being successful in this battle, then they will need to ensure that what they say they truly believe actually aligns with how they really live because the battle takes place in the mind, and it fights for the heart and soul of the person.

It has been said, ‘As a man [humankind] is in his heart so he is’ (Proverbs 23:7, KJV). Why? Well, I note that the latest Avengers movie broke the record for all box office sales. There is something enticing about supernatural superheroes. We want to believe in the superhero because, in the history of human beings, all our cultural and societal heroes have failed us – except one. But also, people – and this category is usually amongst young men – are still seeking spiritual leaders, mentors, and heroes. I think this is why a person such as Jordan Peterson became so popular in a very short time frame. People are searching for someone to follow. We are looking to someone who actually will live the life our hearts tell us we most desire or otherwise guide us in a life we should be living that actually seems to make some sense out of all that’s going on. So for the evangelists amongst you, now is your time – go out into the world and preach the Gospel, and if you have to, use words. But for all of us, Christianity has no power unless it is lived. God wants us to go and release what is good in us – the life of Christ – into our relationships with each other and also into a world that is in dire need of His goodness.

Looking Ahead

As I look forward with the year 2020 in my vision (haven’t had sight like that for years) and beyond, the way ahead is uncharted, and I see no clear passage ahead. Although it may not be apparent, the inconsistency and uncertainty of life in general causes me to wonder if that might be the case with you as well. There are significant milestones ahead for me this year that are sufficient in themselves to make the passage unknown. Yet the journey ahead of me will also provide opportunities of discovery.

Some such milestones are giving up my professional status in counselling and changing course to a new direction that transitions counselling into deeper, richer, and more relevant conversations that really matter about our journey of faith. I’m also aware that I turn 66 this year; God willing, I will also mature. My eldest daughter turned 40 last year. I haven’t ever been the dad of a 40-year-old wife and mother before. The community I left behind in Wollongong has endured growing pains and turned 20 in 2019.

Australia has experienced the worst of drought conditions for more than three years, and then the country burned with catastrophic bush fires for six months. More than 3,000 homes have been lost. In February 2020, the rain came, causing relief for some and further hardship due to flooding for others. As I write, the coronavirus pandemic is on us, and the world is going into shutdown, causing total disarray in the global financial situation and great anxiety throughout our societies. When I look around at what is going on in our world in general and zoom right down to the behaviour over panic buying in local grocery stores, I ask myself, ‘Do I remain curious about the times we live in? Does God care when He considers us? Has Jesus stood up yet? Is He starting to pace?’ The pacing Christ – now that’s a thought.

I think people are becoming more insightful or at least more aware of the fragility and vulnerability of Western society, that is, if they ever stop still long enough and consider the reality of what is actually going on. What is our secure foundation? It is no longer enough to point out how people can come together to help out their neighbours in hard times. That’s admirable, but it is not the whole story.

The massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand, in early 2019