Life is a journey. It is filled with twists and turns, mysteries and doldrums, gain and loss, wisdom and confusion, desires and disillusionment.
And we travel. Hoping that somehow in the end we had a life worth living: one that experienced to the fullest every moment that unfolded, one that is pleasing to our Holy Designer, one that stopped where it should have stopped, turned where it should have turned, sped up and slowed down when it was meant to, accomplished the things it was created to do and ended where it was supposed to end. While we are grateful for the opportunity we have, we often live life out in some frustration, some confusion and some disillusionment.
And we wonder. What would it be like if I had some sort of personal spiritual trainer or mentor or prophet, one that had divine wisdom? What would life be like if we were handed the play book, received personalized writings on the wall from above or even had someone crying out, “Yes” or “No” at each attempted step.
But the Chief Designer is not like that. He is far greater a lover of life than an engineer of robotics.
Life is lived in the journey, the mystery, the pleasure and pain, in the process of discovery. The gift of life is only tainted, perhaps even spoiled, without the unveiling of the journey. But the Creator did not abandon us with some sort of fatalistic, twisted plot. Instead the Great Lover gave us Himself. He gave us a relationship. This Creative Wonder of ours sets forth this supreme relationship in a unique way. He gives us His Son Jesus who lived and died and then lived again to pave the way for our journey to His Father. He gives us the opportunity to know Him and to make Him known.
For the pilgrimage He gives himself in many forms. He gives us the Journey Guide (commonly known as the Holy Spirit) who nudges, whispers, prods and inspires. He gives us a guidebook (commonly known has the Holy Scriptures) in which He advises, equips, corrects, tells us other journey stories and, again, inspires.
He gives us community (commonly known as the church, or at least what it should be) where we can be authentic as we get a glimpse of our relationship with Him through our relationships with others. A gathering where those on a similar journey, despite how diverse, can cry, laugh, learn, advise, struggle and, again, be inspired. The Great Communicator gave us intercommunication (commonly know as prayer) in which we can talk, listen, wrestle, grow and, again, be inspired. As the Supreme Servant, He teaches us to be both royalty and servants (commonly known as stewards), which secular society calls an oxymoron.
He gives us the privilege of being ambassadors of the Most High, not in strutting in glamour and glitz, but rather modeling after His Son, walking with dirty feet. Learning to role up our sleeves, increase by decreasing, grow through dying and, again, a place to become inspired. He is like a supreme mother who births new life, empowers us to be birthing coaches (commonly known as evangelism and multiplication).
What a blessing to partake in the experience of new life. Here we have the opportunity to connect spiritual journeys to the Ultimate Journey, where a dry creek bed becomes intertwines with the river of life. We mentor, guide, point and, again, become inspired. We must not forget that He is the God of Honor; He deserves our greatest respect of worship.
Everything we do for our Father of Jesus is an act of worship, yet there is something missing without our community adoration (commonly known as corporate worship). As a community we are blessed as together we bless our Holy Being. We cry out, we listen, we share, we touch and are touched, we worship and, again, we get inspired.
These are all gifts for the journey. As we travel, these tools will enable us to maintain our focus on the Divine Leader. The Proverbs teach us to trust Him with every ounce of our beings, not our own limited worldviews (understandings), but rather, as we seek Him each step of the way, “He will direct your paths”.
The writer of this wisdom goes on to say, “My child, don’t lose sight of good planning and insight”. So it would seem that the journey of life involves grabbing hold of the essential gifts and tools the Great Lover gives us, crafting our own spiritual portfolio (a personalized map for the spiritual journey) and beginning to walk. With each twist and turn, we revamp our portfolio as new insight is given. But it must be strategic, not just hitting a bunch of random religious rituals.
It is important to recognize that others will be coming from different starting points and will be commanded to use their tools in different ways. Thus, it would be absurd for me to insist that somehow by comparison my portfolio is more spiritual than yours is, or by that same insecurity to feel I should try to match yours. Also, recognize that the “plan” is only a guide, not a strict regimen. To treat it as such only leads us to place our trust in it, more then we trust in God Himself.
Yes, the journey does lead to a destination and it is important that we are assured that are heading to the right one. But that is all we need to concern ourselves with. We do not need to be control freaks who insist on clinging to the illusion that we know how everything will work out. We are not destination conquerors; we are on an expedition with God Himself.
For now, the excursion in itself is our destination: let’s enjoy it, learn from it, experience it, let it experience us, take in its sights and sounds, use our divine tools, but most of all, remember: the Superior Wisdom made the journey of life all about one thing… relationships.
Our relationship is to Him first and foremost, and our relationship with those we encounter along the way is to quickly follow. Don’t get so focused on the process that you lose out on the purpose. Along the way, love God with all of your heart, mind, strength and soul. Oh, and don’t forget to love your neighbor as yourself, and you will do just fine.
Life is a journey. Embrace it, live it, walk it, experience it and please, don’t forget to enjoy it.
11-13-2006 |