Life’s a Journey, a Spiritual Pilgrimage
April 9th, 2008 Posted in Growth, Spirituality
Many a great story has been all about a journey. Some have been movies such as Road Trip and National Lampoon’s Vacation. The movie, Lord of the Rings, based on the classic book by the same title, is a story of a journey to find a special ring. Many novels have been stories of a journey. I’ve even written one myself, Journey to the Emperor’s Throne.
The Bible is filled with stories of journeys including Abraham traveling to a new place and Moses and the people of Israel traveling to the promised land. Jesus’ three years of active ministry were a time of almost constant traveling with His disciples following Him. Paul went on several extended missionary journeys. I give credit to Tony Jones in his book The Sacred Way for reminding me of all these Biblically reported journeys (p. 151).
It’s not surprising, then, that living out the Christian faith has often been described as a journey, or a pilgrimage. It is, after all, a following after Jesus. It’s a good metaphor to use. We should never be staying where we are in our relationship to the Lord. He is always seeking to take us beyond where we now are.
We may think we are traveling in circles most days (it’s called the daily routine) with our going through the same motions, doing the same basic things — brushing our teeth after getting up, eating, going to work, watching TV, brushing our teeth before going to bed, etc, but life is to be more than routine. It’s to be a road! We’re to be travelers, pilgrims on a journey.
“Keep yourself a stranger and pilgrim upon the earth, to whom the affairs of this world are of no concern. Keep your heart free and lifted up to God, for here you have no abiding city.” (Thomas a’ Kempis quoted in The Sacred Way by Tony Jones, p.149)
Even though we may find ourselves doing many of the same things each day we are to be moving forward in being more the person God wants us to be and being open to His new possibilities for us. Even when life doesn’t seem to be going well we shouldn’t allow it to set us back but, instead, choose to have it move us forward! Yes, we’re on a spiritual pilgrimage. By the grace of God we can enjoy the journey!
Dave
One Response to “Life’s a Journey, a Spiritual Pilgrimage”
By Marcia on Apr 10, 2008
I’ve never much enjoyed traveling. I like my routines and my comforts, and getting ready for a trip always seems too much trouble. Planning the itinerary and the things we’ll need (passport, clothing, cash, etc.) seems to be a big deal, especially for air travel. As I’m washing clothes and bringing the luggage down from the attic, I’m inclined to say, “Forget it. We’ll stay home where we have a good bed and a good shower and air conditioning and can be in charge of our own schedules.”
But when I get beyond the hassles and am willing to follow someone else’s schedule and agenda, we always lean something on a journey. And besides, staying home doesn’t guarantee that we won’t experience changes and challenges! I want to be more open to experiencing what God has to teach me in this journey called life!