Pursuing the Journey

Greetings Dear Reader,
Mat 28:18-20 When Jesus came near, he spoke to them. He said, "The right of complete power and choice in the universe and on the inhabited world has been handed over to me. So pursue the journey you have begun by teaching the human family to follow my precepts: Submerging them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Hold discourse with them to attend carefully to the whole of what I have commanded you. "And remember that I am always with you until the end of time." - ATT

I love road trips. For me the journey is a valuable as the destination. I used to regularly drive the fourteen hour trip between my home in Wisconsin and my family in Georgia. Familiar sites and stops in route to the destination made the long drive that much more enjoyable.

Sometimes I would plan longer stops in my journey to visit attractions that I or my family could enjoy. We took a half day to visit the Superman Museum in Metropolis. We planned a trip to Mammoth Cave and Kentucky Down Under. A couple of times car trouble stopped us even if we did not wish to stop. What we never did was abandon the journey because of the side trip or breakdown.

On our journey toward God there are so many things along the way. I have sometimes for forgotten the purpose of my journey for distractions that detract from the journey. Breakdowns of my own choosing have deterred me from the truth that moving toward Christ in all things is necessary if I am to hope to teach others of Christ’s entire message for them. My distracted moments cost me the ability to observe all things that Christ has commanded me.

Indulging private beliefs, questioning my faith, or abandoning my vows to Christ create great distractions for me and for others that keep the journey from moving forward. It is not my place to indulge my own interests in place of my commitment to Christ. I gave my word, my fealty, and my heart to Christ. I vowed to follow him in all things. No matter the distraction or attraction my word must be my bond. It is easy to reason my way to other views and justify other pursuits. None of these justify abandoning the daily hungry pursuit of Christ and all that he has commanded of me.

It is the journey toward Chris that matters. If I focus on Christ alone in that journey everything else will become opportunities and adventures. To pursue anything but Christ leads to pain and the breakdown of my progress along the way. It creates an inability to hold discourse with others about all that Christ has for us. In short the journey is always subject to the destination and the destination is Christ. Even in that, he is always here with us.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."