The Journey

You are traveling down a long, straight highway, knowing that home lies somewhere well beyond the horizon. You have never gone this way before, but others have told you it will get you to your destination. So, you settle into your seat, adjust the radio, set the cruise control, and off you go. You are hoping to enjoy the wide and extremely well traveled road, but you really want to be home. You consider the journey a long but necessary trip. You concern yourself only with keeping it between the lines as your mind blissfully drifts from thought to thought. Then it happens; a noise, some sort of bump that jars you back to reality. The road isn’t as smooth as you had thought. Surveying your surroundings, you notice a person standing on the shoulder ahead, possibly a hitchhiker. He’s holding a sign that simply says, “Home,” and points to a much narrower and much less traveled road. It strikes you as odd, but you decide to keep going. As you pass the long-haired man, he makes eye contact with you, turning as you travel past him. You look at him in your rear view mirror, reading his sign, and watching his frame shrink into the distance behind you. Something stirs inside you. You begin to think, “Where does that road go? Who was that guy? Should I turn around and check it out? What if I’m on the wrong road? Can I trust that guy?”
We believe that life is a journey, and everyone starts the journey as a wanderer on the wrong path. But some of us have been shown the narrow road that we are meant to travel, and have chosen to follow The Guide on this narrow path. That’s where the real journey begins. We begin to move with intention and design. We have discovered that there are only two paths through life, and the one we were on leads to destruction. But, because Jesus of Nazareth has shown us the right path, we continue the journey on the right path towards a new destination with new purpose and new hope. We now find ourselves in the midst of the greatest journey of all; with the Great Journeyman as our guide. Our purpose has changed from making it home to making Him famous. We no longer travel uninformed. We get our direction from the One who set us on this path. He tells us things that would not have made sense on the other road. We know our destination, but concern ourselves with the journey, understanding that He is concerned with the journey. He asks us to travel together as strangers in a strange land. He leads us to help each others to be better travelers. He expects us to offer assistance and direction to those who are lost or stuck. He compels us to hold up our signs for those who are still on the wrong path, imploring them to change direction. Home, it’s just a matter of turning. All the while, we are learning that the journey is really all about our Guide. Ever bump, every breath, every step, every valley, every new traveler, it’s all about Jesus of Nazareth and His way. We find that He is the Way.
Where are you on the journey? Are you still on the broad and well traveled road? Are you considering making the turn and trusting this Jesus of Nazareth to be your Guide? It’s the right choice, and the only way home. Are you a traveler who has made the turn, but gotten stuck? Are you close on the heels of the Great Journeyman? Wherever you are in the journey, we want to come along side you and travel this strange road with you.