In a recent post, I ended with this remark:
“Sometimes it takes looking back just a bit to see how much God has used your experiences to shape you. Perhaps this is why the journey is every bit as important as the destination.”
I’d like to expand on that thought a little bit today.
When I was a teenager in a Christian school, I had to struggle through The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. I only recall bits and pieces of the story (not a leisure read), but what has stood out to me over the years is that it was a journey. All of Christian’s growth and change came as he traveled, and the people he met along the way and the experiences he had contributed to his growth.
We have become such a goal-oriented culture–one that is all about the destination. It shapes so much of our thinking. Take work as an example. Some people immerse themselves in their work, driven to achieve the “good life”. What is “the good life?” Early retirement. A destination. In our mind, the good life represents freedom to do what we want to do, when we want to do it. I know of people who have so much wealth that they literally spend their days in leisure. They are bored out of their minds–purposeless, unhappy. Wealth was the destination, and now that they have “arrived”, they don’t know what else to do.
I think we believers far too often treat our Christian walk the same way. We see a perceived destination in front of us, and our days are spent striving to reach that place. I don’t really mean heaven; I mean something here on earth. We see this almost mythical place where we are perfected, successful, happy Christians, where we have no battles, only the joy and peace of a sort of heaven-on-earth. And every day that we haven’t “arrived”, we are disappointed with ourselves and where we are. We haven’t prayed enough, studied enough, witnessed enough, given enough, or in some other way we haven’t measured up. So we try harder. We strive.
I’ve known Christians who are so ambitious for “the ministry” that they treat it almost like a corporate ladder, sometimes walking over others to get there. To some extent, I used to be one of those people. I saw this ministry “destination” that I wanted–needed–to reach, to establish my own legitimacy. I felt that if I could only “get there”–get established in ministry, I could just coast from there.
That’s kind of how we are, isn’t it? We want to build up so much steam and momentum that we can sort of coast the rest of the way.
Now, I’m not opposed to goals; we need goals. I’m not opposed to having vision, desires, or even healthy ambition, when these are yielded over to Christ. And I still have dreams, and things I’m trying to achieve. What I’m saying is that we get so obsessed with the destination that we forget that life is a journey. When we are so focused on the future, we stop living in the present, and we cannot enjoy what is right in front of us because we are so driven to be somewhere else. But once we have “arrived” (at whatever place we think we’re aiming for)–how do we grow from there? It seems to me that all the growth I’ve undergone as a Christian–as a person–has come from the journey itself. So it seems to me that the journey is at least as important as the destination–if not more so.
This understanding should actually be good news to us, because it means we don’t have to wait until we have “arrived” to experience growth, to experience joy, to experience the life that God has for us. The whole heaven-on-earth thing, IMHO, doesn’t come from the destination; it comes along the way.
Why? Because on the journey, God is walking with us. The One we are striving to get to–He’s actually walking us down the road.
I have this mental picture of a little child tugging at his father’s hand, trying to hurry him down the path toward some magical destination. “Come ON, Dad!” Ever been to Disney World? All of us are kids at Disney World. There’s so much to see, and there’s this tendency to want to hurry to take everything in. We rush from this attraction to that attraction. But if you take it a little slower in Disney World, you’ll see lots of little details along the way that are just as intriguing–etchings on the sidewalk, or a picture designed in the landscaping, or a little side-show taking place on the street–little things that most people miss because they are in a hurry.
I think sometimes Father takes it slower because there’s something right in front of us that He does not want us to miss. He knows that the journey is just as amazing as the destination, if we’d just stop long enough to look.
I get weary along the way, same as everyone else. But I’m coming to realize that the quality of life I desire isn’t found in striving for the destination. It’s right here in front of me–it’s found as I embrace the journey itself. It isn’t always easy, and sometimes downright scary; but it’s an adventure worth experiencing. I don’t want to come to whatever destination I think I’m reaching for and find out I have not really lived.
Wayward Son
Musician. Composer. Recovering perfectionist. Minister-in-transition. Lover of puns. Hijacker of rock song references. Questioner of the status quo.
I'm not really a rebel. Just a sincere Christ-follower with a thirst for significance that gets me into trouble. My quest has taken me over the fence of institutional Christianity. Here are some of my random thoughts along the way. Read along, join in the conversation. Just be nice.
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I love the new blog format.
Life is like pilgrimage. The destination is important but you learn as you take the journey.
Jeff,
Aahh…this is great. Such a good reminder. Thank you.
I especially loved your use of the Disney World illustration. I was imagining it as I read along. It’s the journey, not the destination…for even when we reach our destination, Heaven, we will still be on a journey, I think! Our “days” will not be spent idly!
Blessings,
~Amy 🙂
http://amyiswalkingin
Some are like children who think that when they are “grown up” they will have arrived. Then when they reach whatever milestone signifies growing up they stop seeking to learn and grow. They then spend the rest of their lives just existing or trying to recapture the youth they so desperately wanted to leave behind.
Our churches are full of people who are like this spiritually
Jeff,
I totally agree. Very well said.
Gary
Mike, I agree. Thanks for chiming in.
Amy,
My family are Disney World fanatics; we are hoping to take another “pilgrimage” there. 🙂
Thanks.
Co-heir,
Good point. Certainly we do this in so many ways, not just spiritually.
Thanks, Gary. 🙂