Christian Becoming

I finally picked up at the library a book I have been wanting to read for a long time: “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything” by Col. Chris Hadfield. Hadfield became legendary for his pictures and tweets from space, as well as his musical performance of “Space Oddity” from the Space Station.

At nine years old, watching Neil Armstrong take that first step on the moon, Hadfield heard the call to be an astronaut. From that day forward, everything he did—the books he read, the school he chose, the assignments he sought—was to prepare him in the hopes that he would be chosen to be an astronaut.

Hadfield knew that as a Canadian citizen, the chance of him ever being an astronaut was slim—Canada did not have its own space program, and the chances of him being chosen by NASA was not great. But still, he persisted and was eventually chosen as an astronaut in 1992, nearly 25 years after he first heard the call.

I love how he described his first trip to space, realizing his long-pursued dream:

“In one sense I felt at peace: I’d been to space at last and it had been even more fulfilling than I’d imagined. But I hadn’t been given a lot of responsibility up there—no one is on their first flight…The difference between [the veteran on the mission] and me, in terms of what we could contribute, was huge. Training in Houston, I hadn’t been able to separate out the vital from the trivial, to differentiate between what was going to keep me alive in an emergency and what was esoteric and interesting but not crucial. There had been so much to learn, I’d just been trying to cram it all into my brain. During the mission, too, I was in receive mode: tell me everything, keep teaching me, I’m going to soak up every last drop.

“So despite having traveled 3.4 million miles, I didn’t feel I’d arrived at my destination. An astronaut was something I was still in the process of becoming.” (p. 28)

We who follow Jesus are in a continual process of becoming. Our spiritual growth doesn’t stop once we call ourselves “Christian”. Every day provides us with a chance to grow more loving, to follow the Jesus Way more closely, to be drawn to God and others in deeper ways. There are some further along the journey who are there to mentor us just as there are those just starting out who need our nurture. John Wesley said of our spiritual growth that we are “moving on to perfection.” Hebrews 6:1-3 provides instruction for growth and The Message version is quite frank about it:

“So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. God helping us, we’ll stay true to all that. But there’s so much more. Let’s get on with it!”

So let’s get on with it! Let’s decide to take another step further in the faith, increasing our love of God and others. Let us find our faith opening us up to God in more intimate ways. Let us see the footsteps of Jesus more clearly. Let us continue in the process of becoming Christian.