Friday, July 1, 2011

The Destination or the Journey?

It’s not just the destination 
but the JOURNEY that matters most.
I had a conversation with a friend the other day and as we talked he said he had been struggling with a lot of thoughts and it finally occurred to him that he was thinking about the destination and as he realized that, he came to the awareness that it was not so much the destination, but the journey that was really important. 
I have thought a lot about that in the last couple of days, and as I look back over my life I am aware of both the destination and the journey. If you read my newsletter on my website, you know what I am talking about. If you didn’t, click on my latest RTM Newsletter.
The destination - heaven and eternity with Christ is hard wired deep in the new creature that I became when I surrendered my life to Jesus. I am aware of it all the time. When I see the world around me and am so aware that it is broken and it isn’t right. It isn’t as it should be. It is twisted and corrupted. I know this because I have within my soul the echo - the resonance and the full picture of the world and reality as it should be, and the one I was created for, and the longing for what God intended all along. It’s called HOME. It is what we all long for and can’t put words to it, or express it fully, but it is constantly there and I cannot get away from it. I don’t want to get away from it. I want to get to it. It tells me I am made for something more. I am destined for something better. I am intended for another kingdom. I am a citizen of this other kingdom where everything is in order and as it was always meant to be. I also know it because I feel like an alien in this world. I am homesick and my heart longs to be with the one who made me new and whole. A place where there is no sin, no tears, no sorrow, no death, no unfulfilled dreams and unrealized hopes. It is where I know that so many of my family and friends are waiting for me. It is living in the light of truth every moment - the truth of the person of Jesus - God in flesh and the Son of the Living God. I want to be with Jesus in His kingdom and looking upon His face for all eternity. To come to know Him in ever deeper ways that I can only experience when I am there with Him.
The Journey - I agree with my friend that we can get obsessed with the destination and lose sight of the journey. Why is this journey so important? Because it is in the journey that we discover both who Jesus is and who we are. Jesus invited His disciples to “Come and follow me”. He told them that if they chose to follow Him that He had no place in this world to lay His head. He was inviting them on a journey of discovery. It was a discovery of Him and themselves in every new experience with Him. It was a journey that would try them, test them, reveal them and cause them to learn to trust Him for everything. On this journey they would be amazed, confused, scared, and in the midst of it all their faith would grow. Their dependance on Jesus would grow and their understanding would grow. The journey was important because it was in each new circumstance and new opportunity of seeing Jesus deal with the unexpected and the crisis of life He encountered daily, that they grew to understand that He was more than a mere man. This was in fact God in the flesh. God with us - Emmanuel. They came to know that He alone could meet their deepest needs. 
This is the same journey Jesus has called me on and anyone who would choose to come and follow Him. The beauty of the here and now journey is that not only does Jesus walk with me. He lives inside of me. He animates me when I choose to surrender my will to His and allow the things that move God’s heart to move mine. It is on this journey that His desires and hopes and dreams become my desires and hopes and dreams. It is life abundant and full and more satisfying than anything this world has to offer. 
The other wonder of this journey is that it continues into eternity. It is never ending. I will spend my eternity with Jesus. I will never finally arrive. I will always be arriving and will always discover new and beautiful things about the one who saved me and redeemed me and gave me this new life with all it’s facets and nuances. The destination is just another part of the journey and we are getting a taste of it now, but we will drink it’s fullness then and for always. 
I will endeavor every day to not miss this journey and all there is for me here and now as I follow Jesus. 
Paul said it very well in Rom. 12:1-2 “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
That is what the journey is about - 
being transformed into new creatures that are destined for, and can abide an eternity with Jesus in His glorious Kingdom - HOME!.
   As Jesus said - “Come follow me”.  
  Are you willing and ready? 
If so - The great adventure awaits.

1 comment:

  1. Beautiful post, Randy. Welcome to blogdom. Look forward to reading more from you.

    ReplyDelete