In our ongoing “Life is a Journey, what’s the best way to travel” series, we are now down to our last “P”.
It’s the most important.
In the previous blog, we covered the Great Commission to make disciples. The last sentence of that commission is the most comforting verse in the Bible. Jesus said, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
That is certainly something to behold! Hold on to Him with all your might!
Our final “P” is our PARTNER. It is our travel companion for our life’s journey. We will have many travel partners while here on earth–our spouse, family, friends, and some may leave us, but Christ will be with us–ALWAYS!
Imagine having the honor and privilege of travelling with the Creator of the universe!
He is the first and the last. We started our journey with Christ because He is the Gate. He is the Way to eternal life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. He is the last. One day He will return to set up His Kingdom–a Kingdom that will never end.
But it’s not like Jesus makes a couple of cameo appearances in the beginning and end of our life journey and the rest is up to us. He’s there with us through every step of the way!
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Rev 3:20).
It’s the ultimate, “Guess who’s coming to dinner” moment. Back in Jesus’ time, people were greatly concerned about their next meal. They didn’t have Waffle Houses that were open 24/7 where you could get your hashbrowns scattered and smothered, chopped and chunked. So dining together was an intimate experience–a bonding moment.
It still is today, if we recognize it. Having dinner together as a family strengthens family ties. Going out for a meal is a bonding moment for a husband and wife. Sharing a meal produces fellowship.
In today’s world where we often measure our efficiency by how many events we can cram into our calendar, we often sacrifice quality for quantity. Busyness is the enemy of intimacy. Eating out where everyone at the table is on their cell phone texting is not sharing a meal, but eating separately in the same location. It defeats the purpose.
Considering our busyness, do we make time for Christ? Is our dining with the Lord analogous to a quick trip through the Drive thru? “Hey, Jesus. Do you want fries with that?” That’s not intimacy—that’s indigestion!
Perhaps, He is still standing at the door knocking. That’s no place for Christ to be.
He is always with us, but do we cultivate that relationship or do we have Jesus on speed dial for emergencies only? The double-edged sword is that we have a choice and it cuts both ways. We can choose to be with Him or ignore Him. We can choose to be conscious of His presence or be oblivious to it.
We should always desire to sense His presence and receive His input–to have an ear to hear what His Spirit is saying to us. To illustrate this, let’s consider a very happy moment…at least it started as a happy moment and hopefully for all, it remains a happy moment. This is the big event–your wedding day! It’s a day where you want everything to go right.
Now a marriage ceremony can be small or elaborate. For the more sophisticated ones, couples often hire a wedding planner as the logistics for such an event can become quite complex. Now imagine if you could hire Jesus as your wedding planner. How confident would you be that your wedding day would be a great success? It would be guaranteed! Think of all the potential problems Jesus could easily solve:
The caterer did not show up and there is no food! Jesus fed 5,000 with a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread.
There’s a big storm coming and it will ruin our outdoor wedding! With just a word, Jesus can calm any storm.
The caterer has run out of wine! Jesus already has this one on His resume as He can change water into the finest Cabernet.
There’s no situation or scenario that Jesus could not handle to ensure your wedding day is an unqualified success. He’s the perfect wedding planner! So, if you would want Jesus to be with you on your very special day, the important question is this. Why wouldn’t you want Him to be with you every day?
The cool thing is, He wants to be with you!
As a personal note, I recently experienced the Big day, getting married almost three years ago. While my soon-to-be wife Ellen and I were shopping for rings, the jeweler noted that he could inscribe a saying on the inside of our rings. So, we decided that I would pick a Bible verse for her ring and she would choose a verse for mine. Of the 31,102 verses in the Bible, we both chose the same verse for each other, 1 Corinthians 13:8 “Love never fails.” That’s a neat “Awwww” moment isn’t it?
In the interest of full disclosure and knowing what my future wife would have to endure being married to me, another verse that I considered came in a close second, John 11:35: “Jesus wept.”
[Note: check out the video in an earlier blog I did on this verse]
We, as the Church, are preparing for the Big Wedding where Christ is the Groom and we are the bride. It will be the most amazing celebration ever! Imagine a banquet held by our Heavenly Father. It will be quite a show!
Until that wonderful day, we soldier on and what better commander can we have other than Christ? We are fully confident in our victory!
As we travel here on earth, the astounding thing about commander, our Lord, and our travel Partner, is the depth and breath of His compassion and love for us. He will weep beside us in our days of trouble, He will rejoice with us in our victories, and He will encourage us all those days in-between.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Col 1:15-17)
Jesus holds the whole universe together!
He is the greatest of all travel companions and when you travel your life journey with Him, you will have a most excellent adventure and you are guaranteed to get to your final destination! This is The Way we are to travel.
To Jesus be all the glory and power forever and ever.
Amen!
