In a very real sense, we are all sojourners, traveling across the landscape of space and time. Whether we recognize it or not, we are all moving from where we once were through today and into whatever it is that tomorrow brings. Of course some of us travel quickly and, too often, haphazardly, while others are more cautious and tentative in their movements. Still, for all of the differences, we are all in motion.
Think about it. Are you exactly the same as you were in, say, grade school? Have you made any changes since your high school days? With whom do you spend time now, and what "makes you tick" today? How do your current interests differ from those of days gone by? Some things and certain relationships endure the passing of time, but other things and relationships, for whatever reason, fade away. In other words, we retain certain features of our past, and we (by choice or due to circumstances) alter other features. Indeed, even the lasting relationships, interests, and concerns are probably different (and hopefully more wisely approached) than they once were. We all journey.
If this is true, then perhaps this journeying paradigm should more obviously influence the way we think and live our lives as believers. Too often, or so it seems, we exude a static view of life. We know what we believe and how we should live, and so we exist in a kind of spiritual bubble, unchanged by anything within or around us. I wonder, however, if this is an ideal situation. After all, we are called to follow Jesus, which implies movement, a journey of sorts. And we are to grow in grace and knowledge, which obviously involves a measure of change. Could it be that we have been fallen prey to a stagnant outlook? Is our mind-set one which is overly confident, impersonal, irrelevant, and just plain boring? Far too often, I think this is the case.
As an alternative, it might be better and wiser to apply this journeying paradigm to the way we live and think. How would we approach theology, apologetics, epistemology, and a host of other issues if we better learned to travel, to think with God as we follow him through life? In what ways would our beliefs and attitudes be bolstered, tweaked, or even altered if we treated thinking and doing not as static and immovable but as something we journey towards?
Though a lot more might be added, the following seem to be consistent with this journeying paradigm.
1. Acknowledgment of weakness and ignorance - When we journey, we acknowledge that we don’t have all of the answers. This is what one would expect given Scripture's portrayal of humanity as fallen and prone to error. Even those renewed by the Spirit of God are in constant need of guidance and restoration. By the nature of the case, the imperfect among us (that’s everyone!) simply must journey if we hope to please God.
2. Keener awareness of God’s greatness - When we journey, it is at least possible to recognize that God is indeed far greater than our best conceptions of him. If he is as amazing as Scripture declares, if many of his ways truly transcend our most treasured formulations, we would do well to realize that this is simply the way things are with the true God. Our hope and prayer is that our journey will take us nearer to him.
3. Eschatological twist - When we journey, we allow our spiritual pilgrimage to take on a telos or purpose. According to Scripture, life has a goal, for there will come a time when God himself takes center stage and all of his purposes coalesce. Our journeying, therefore, at least to the degree that it is faithful journeying, has an eschatological tone to it.
4. Dependence on the ever-present One - When we journey, we implicitly acknowledge that we need something greater than we are. Ultimately, we need our Creator. If we require answers, if we have a difficult time overcoming our own foolish tendencies, if don't quite know the way–we are compelled to look outside of ourselves to the One who is with us still. To journey is to look to and rest in another. Thus, our journey, rightly understood, is the very essence and expression of faith.
Lest I be misunderstood, none of this is intended to sound relativistic. It is not that everything is “up for grabs.” Far from it. As believers we operate under certain assumptions, presuppositions that set the parameters for and the direction of our journey. Thus, we operate within the sphere of Scripture, and we seek to follow the living Son of God (as historical orthodoxy has always maintained). But we also add this personal element: We are journeying with our Lord through life. Therefore, all that we do and think and envision is a part of this process, this effort to heed Jesus’ call. He said it plainly: “Follow Me.”
Think about it. Are you exactly the same as you were in, say, grade school? Have you made any changes since your high school days? With whom do you spend time now, and what "makes you tick" today? How do your current interests differ from those of days gone by? Some things and certain relationships endure the passing of time, but other things and relationships, for whatever reason, fade away. In other words, we retain certain features of our past, and we (by choice or due to circumstances) alter other features. Indeed, even the lasting relationships, interests, and concerns are probably different (and hopefully more wisely approached) than they once were. We all journey.
If this is true, then perhaps this journeying paradigm should more obviously influence the way we think and live our lives as believers. Too often, or so it seems, we exude a static view of life. We know what we believe and how we should live, and so we exist in a kind of spiritual bubble, unchanged by anything within or around us. I wonder, however, if this is an ideal situation. After all, we are called to follow Jesus, which implies movement, a journey of sorts. And we are to grow in grace and knowledge, which obviously involves a measure of change. Could it be that we have been fallen prey to a stagnant outlook? Is our mind-set one which is overly confident, impersonal, irrelevant, and just plain boring? Far too often, I think this is the case.
As an alternative, it might be better and wiser to apply this journeying paradigm to the way we live and think. How would we approach theology, apologetics, epistemology, and a host of other issues if we better learned to travel, to think with God as we follow him through life? In what ways would our beliefs and attitudes be bolstered, tweaked, or even altered if we treated thinking and doing not as static and immovable but as something we journey towards?
Though a lot more might be added, the following seem to be consistent with this journeying paradigm.
1. Acknowledgment of weakness and ignorance - When we journey, we acknowledge that we don’t have all of the answers. This is what one would expect given Scripture's portrayal of humanity as fallen and prone to error. Even those renewed by the Spirit of God are in constant need of guidance and restoration. By the nature of the case, the imperfect among us (that’s everyone!) simply must journey if we hope to please God.
2. Keener awareness of God’s greatness - When we journey, it is at least possible to recognize that God is indeed far greater than our best conceptions of him. If he is as amazing as Scripture declares, if many of his ways truly transcend our most treasured formulations, we would do well to realize that this is simply the way things are with the true God. Our hope and prayer is that our journey will take us nearer to him.
3. Eschatological twist - When we journey, we allow our spiritual pilgrimage to take on a telos or purpose. According to Scripture, life has a goal, for there will come a time when God himself takes center stage and all of his purposes coalesce. Our journeying, therefore, at least to the degree that it is faithful journeying, has an eschatological tone to it.
4. Dependence on the ever-present One - When we journey, we implicitly acknowledge that we need something greater than we are. Ultimately, we need our Creator. If we require answers, if we have a difficult time overcoming our own foolish tendencies, if don't quite know the way–we are compelled to look outside of ourselves to the One who is with us still. To journey is to look to and rest in another. Thus, our journey, rightly understood, is the very essence and expression of faith.
Lest I be misunderstood, none of this is intended to sound relativistic. It is not that everything is “up for grabs.” Far from it. As believers we operate under certain assumptions, presuppositions that set the parameters for and the direction of our journey. Thus, we operate within the sphere of Scripture, and we seek to follow the living Son of God (as historical orthodoxy has always maintained). But we also add this personal element: We are journeying with our Lord through life. Therefore, all that we do and think and envision is a part of this process, this effort to heed Jesus’ call. He said it plainly: “Follow Me.”
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