The Journey...

It has been said that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” (I’m not sure just exactly WHO said that, but I’ve heard it said…) With each step, though, the destination draws nearer. The markers that define the journey draw nearer, and gather behind us as we travel. The same can be true of life itself. As each morning dawns, an evening closes. As each season approaches, another one fades from view. As each year advances, another one ends. Ironically, when we were younger, it seemed that the future was so distant, so remote, so small, so slow and long in coming. Now, as I grow older, it seems as though my middle years have started picking up speed. But each new chapter is a new adventure in the journey. And when I look back, I can see that I was not alone. It was almost as if there was a pattern, or a momentum that was drawing me in a particular direction.


Surprisingly enough, our faith has many of the same characteristics. I am forever being asked by people how we can have the faith that seems to sustain others so wondrously when they are in great need. “I want the faith that they have – they seem to have everything together,” they say. And yet, so few people are willing to invest in the steps that it takes to make that journey become a reality. It is as if folks want the benefit of the destination without the hassles of the excursion.

But the faith journey is one that doesn’t work on the microwave principle – it doesn’t happen quickly. The journey itself is fraught with peril, headache, heartache, joys, thrills, fears, and everything in between. The journey is just that – a journey. There’s no magic time-portal that enables us to know God’s will completely, without taking the time to get to know more about God.

This past Saturday, a person in a Mission Matters Conference that I attended, asked a similar question about mission work, and how to discern what God’s will is. When the leader of the small group asked me to help her out, I shared with the group that part of the discernment process has to do with the fact that we need to take the time to get to know God. We need to know what moves God, what God loves, what breaks God’s heart, in order to know what God wants us to do. That which breaks God’s heart is what should break our hearts, too. And that should motivate us to move and act. But this doesn’t happen – indeed it cannot happen – if we do not first take the time to get to know God.

And that is exactly what the journey of faith is all about. It is about taking the time with one another to get to know God together. And it doesn’t happen all at once. It happens over time. With intention. One step at a time.

Have you taken the first step yet? How about the next one? The good news is that each step you take draws you closer to God.

See you in Church!

Grace and peace,

Brad