COMING HOME
We just returned from a three week vacation (7 days of it were on the road). We spent two full weeks visiting with family and celebrating my mother's 87th birthday. We even got to drive down to my brother's place in Tennessee.
We drove over 4,800 miles and saw so much of our wonderful country. There is so much beauty in God's creation and such a variety of vistas. From the flat countryside that stretches out through Indiana and Illinois to the rolling tree covered hills of Missouri and buttes of New Mexico and at times the road stretching out to the horizon and not forgetting the mountains and desserts of Arizona and California. By the time we arrived home we were tired in general and tired of being in the car for so long, but it was sure good be in our home and talk with our church family again.
It was a tiring trip, but a good one and as I went back over this time in my mind I thought how much this trip is like life. My wife and I often speak of our lives as being an adventure and each thing that happens as just another leg on that journey that is our adventure. We see and experience lots of new and neat things, meet lots of different people, form some new and sometimes lasting friendships, but the goal of the journey is to get home.
We travel through this life and the journey is neat, but it is the destination that is really important. I don't know if you have ever thought about your life in that way, but perhaps you should. You are going to experience a lot of different things here on this earth, some good and some not so good. The only way to deal with those not so good things is to keep in mind the goal of your destination. That's why Paul's admonition about his goal is so meaningful and so often repeated by teachers and preachers in our world. Paul said, " 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Philippians 3:12-14, NLT)
I think maybe that's why so many have lost interest in God, the bible and his church. They have no idea what the real goal of life should be. I love the story of the little boy who told his grandfather, "I know what BIBLE means." The grandfather asked him to explain what he meant. The little boy answered, "B.I.B.L.E., 'Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth'". Too many folks no longer understand that, if they did they would pay more attention to the "Instruction Book".
In the rush and pressure of life, let me encourage you not to loose sight of the goal (coming home to God), if you do nothing else matters.
Russ Lawson
We just returned from a three week vacation (7 days of it were on the road). We spent two full weeks visiting with family and celebrating my mother's 87th birthday. We even got to drive down to my brother's place in Tennessee.
We drove over 4,800 miles and saw so much of our wonderful country. There is so much beauty in God's creation and such a variety of vistas. From the flat countryside that stretches out through Indiana and Illinois to the rolling tree covered hills of Missouri and buttes of New Mexico and at times the road stretching out to the horizon and not forgetting the mountains and desserts of Arizona and California. By the time we arrived home we were tired in general and tired of being in the car for so long, but it was sure good be in our home and talk with our church family again.
It was a tiring trip, but a good one and as I went back over this time in my mind I thought how much this trip is like life. My wife and I often speak of our lives as being an adventure and each thing that happens as just another leg on that journey that is our adventure. We see and experience lots of new and neat things, meet lots of different people, form some new and sometimes lasting friendships, but the goal of the journey is to get home.
We travel through this life and the journey is neat, but it is the destination that is really important. I don't know if you have ever thought about your life in that way, but perhaps you should. You are going to experience a lot of different things here on this earth, some good and some not so good. The only way to deal with those not so good things is to keep in mind the goal of your destination. That's why Paul's admonition about his goal is so meaningful and so often repeated by teachers and preachers in our world. Paul said, " 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Philippians 3:12-14, NLT)
I think maybe that's why so many have lost interest in God, the bible and his church. They have no idea what the real goal of life should be. I love the story of the little boy who told his grandfather, "I know what BIBLE means." The grandfather asked him to explain what he meant. The little boy answered, "B.I.B.L.E., 'Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth'". Too many folks no longer understand that, if they did they would pay more attention to the "Instruction Book".
In the rush and pressure of life, let me encourage you not to loose sight of the goal (coming home to God), if you do nothing else matters.
Russ Lawson
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