The Journey
When I go hiking on the Appalachian Trail, often times there is a road that goes around a tough section or there is an alternate route via another trail that may go through a valley rather than over a peak. Appalachian Trail hikers call this blue blazing, because the side trails are marked with blue blazes and the Appalachian Trail is marked with white blazes. The temptation is to make the end point the goal. The Appalachian Trail is the reason for hiking.
I admit it I am guiltier than most about blue blazing. On my last hike in Tennessee, there was a cold windy day that oriented us to walk on a road that paralleled the trail. The road gained the same amount of elevation and was less exposed to the wind than the trail. All we missed was wind and cold. A few years ago we left out of Skyline Lodge and followed a section of trail that took us beneath Stony Man and around a steep climb, because the end point was the goal. We missed an opportunity to survey the entire Shenandoah Valley to the west and to get a glimpse of Washington DC to the east. All we were focused was simply looking forward to the truck at the end of the day. The Appalachian Trail is the goal and the reason for hiking and we missed the journey that day.
Jesus has told us that he is the way the truth and the life. Heaven is not the focus of the Christian life. The end location Heaven or Hell is not the point. Heaven is not the reason for the walk of faith. Eternal life is not the goal. Jesus is. Jesus is the reason and the focus. He is the Journey and through the Journey we experience the Father. The “missional” motivation is that every moment is an opportunity to experience Jesus, because He is the point, He is the end, He is it, He is the reason… He is at the center of everything. A life lived focused on Jesus is so much more exciting and abundant than a life lived simply looking forward to Heaven. A life lived on the Journey never misses out on the expereincing alll the Father has to offer. Paul said it best in Philippians 1:21 “to live is Christ and to die is gain!”
