The Way Forward

Many people think of life as a journey. Christians constitute a major group of like thinkers. We see a journey before us because we are actually following Jesus. To follow someone is to be going on a journey where we accept their lead.

Our life's experience is of many different kinds of journey. Many people now own a motor car and therefore make many journeys, short and long. Today I have made two long journeys. I drove from Anglesey to Manchester and then returned by the same route. Along the way I encountered sunshine, light rain, and heavy rain. You could call this a mixed bag of weather.

When we plan a journey we always check the weather forecast to see what we are likely to encounter as we travel. We ought also to check our car to be sure there is enough petrol in the tank, sufficient oil in the engine and water in the windscreen wiper reservoir. Each of these checks is a safety measure. Even so, on our journey we might encounter something for which we cannot plan. This being so let's hope it is good news and not bad. But you never can tell. A few years ago I decided to take my wife to see the changing leaves of autumn in the Lake District. I had driven only a few miles when the unexpected occurred. I was driving in the outside lane when a car appeared travelling at a right angle across the motorway! In that split second I knew I should hit the car at speed. Luckily I had just come through road works and so was travelling slower that normal. Mt car hit the other one at 50mph and was an obvious write off. We were lucky as our only injuries were from the seat belts. However, it was several weeks before the pain subsided. Setting off that morning we could not know what would happen but we set off optimistically.

Other journeys we might make are those when we fly to other countries in todays sophisticated aircraft. I was reminded of this today as I drove past Manchester Airport and I saw a Boeing 747 taking off. A great deal of checking and planning is done before any aircraft is boarded by its passengers. Once airborne we shall probably soon become bored as the land or sea below us seems to be just drifting by. Nothing suggests we are cruising at over 500mph. Even so there are occasional unexpected happenings that take place. One year, homeward bound from Corfu, we were due to land at Rimini in Italy to refuel. The aircraft descended and then began to climb again. The pilot told us that because an Italian Air Force jet was blocking the runway we were diverting to Venice for the fuel.

Looking at the photo at the top I am reminded that many journeys are undertaken by sea. The lighthouse shown is Point Lynas in Anglesey, North Wales. It guards the passage into Liverpool Bay and the port of Liverpool itself. From day to day I see quite a number of ships passing on their voyage to and from Liverpool. Because of the special care needed a number of ships anchor off Anglesey to wait for a pilot to see them into the Port of Liverpool. Not far from the point seen here there is a memorial to the passengers and crew of a ship called the Royal Charter which ended its days on the rocks after returning ome from the Australian Gold Rush.

So we can see that journeys can be problematical and often dangerous if things get out of control. Elijah, the great prophet knew the problems of life's journey. He put as many miles as he could between himself and Queen Jezebel because he knew she was after having him murdered. At the end of this journey of fear Elijah was sitting in a cave and heard a voice calling, "Elijah, what are you doing here?" It was then that he realised he was on the wrong journey. He had taken his own route instead of seeking to know where God wanted him to go. As Christians we are called to follow wherever Jesus leads. Before we do so we say, like Thomas said to Jesus, "How can we know where you are going?" His reply to Thomas remains to this very day. Jesus said, "Iam the way, the truth and the life!" Here Jesus links his first keyword with his third - the way and the life are the same thing.

In Pilgrim's progressEvangelist asks Christian, "Why standest thou still?" Christian answers, "Because I know not whither to go. The story then enfolds that keeps on pointing Christian in the right direction. Early on in his journey he looks back, having gone through the Valley of the Shadow of Death and sees the dangers that were to the right and the left as he travelled. Like evey journey there are dangers along the way and Pilgrim's Progress points this out very clearly.

Although our journey can be very difficult indeed once we reach the end we declare it has been worth it. David Jenkins, formerly Bishop of Durham, was known for his verbosity. He never used two words if a few dozen would suffice. He was challenged to reduce a lecture to just a few words. He rose to the challenge and came up with these words: "God is, He is as he is in Jesus, so there is hope." Later he made it even simpler and said, "God is, He is for us, so it's worth it." Now that is the discovery everyone makes at journey's end, it is worth it.

Whilst in Manchester today I conducted a funeral service and chose to read the famous passage from the Book of Revelation which describes the celestial city. Having read that vision I can only emphasise that the journey of life eventually becomes worth it for the Christian. At journey's end we see Gad face to face and his light illuminates our continuing life in his presence. Everything exists in that place for our eternal happiness. Yes, it is worth it!