Are you sure you know where you're going?

It must have been daunting. Abram responds to some communication from God to leave all he knows and journey to a land God would show him, or, as Hebrews 11 puts it, "....called to go to a place....even though he did not know where he was going."

It could almost be seen as tragic. The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Romans to secure a base in Rome for his missionary journey into Spain. Only he never got to Spain. He was imprisoned in Rome and died as a martyr.

Abram didn't know where he was going, but he got there; and Paul knew exactly where he was going and never arrived. Which leads me to make the following observation: perhaps, in the purposes of God for your life and mine, the destination doesn't matter as much as what happens along the way.

I know that isn't a particularly profound thought, that many others have made similar observations, but as I have studied the concept of 'journey' as our faith community transitions into its next season, I began to wonder just how much energy we expend in achieving our goals or working our 'plan.' I wonder how much we miss by not appreciating the presence and activity of God in the journey.

Please don't think that I'm suggesting that goals and plans are bad. On the contrary, I think we need to have goals, I think that having a plan is important. I have goals for my life, I have a plan I'm working to achieve. But 'the father of the faithful' didn't know where he was going and although Paul's plan was to extend the kingdom of God into Spain, God's purpose was that he write the remarkable theological exposition we know as the book of Romans.

Somewhere between our plans and God's purpose is that precious and transitory moment we call TODAY. 

Because we are finite beings and experience life as a seemingly linear process from 'the cradle to the grave' we often make the mistake of assuming God is limited to the same time frame that we are - but he's not! God is an eternal being who is connected to time but does not exist in time. To us life has a beginning and an end, but to God our life is simply NOW. That means that he already knows and has engaged with us in the entirety of our lives and because of that the goals and intentions of our limited perspective are ultimately submitted to his eternal purpose.

That is an incredibly liberating and transformative thought. It means that even though Abram didn't know where he was being led, all he had to do was remain faithful each step of the way and trust that God knew where he would end up. Abram didn't become Abraham because he journeyed to Canaan, but because he placed his faith in God along the way.

Paul didn't achieve everything he set out to achieve. And yet he could write, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing" (2 Tim. 4:7-8).

But Paul, what about Spain? What about the churches you haven't been able to plant? What about the cities you haven't visited yet? Don't you have any more letters to write? How can you have finished the race with so much left undone?

I think Paul knew that although he had plans, God had a different purpose for each day of his life. Paul knew the secret of Galatians 2:20 remember, that each day he lived was an expression of the presence of the risen Christ and his kingdom. 

Abraham and Paul are examples of the wonderful reality that whatever tomorrow looks like and whatever I am able to accomplish, TODAY is an opportunity for me to live into the kingdom reality of Matthew 5 - to be humble and emotionally honest and teachable and proactive and forgiving and pure of heart and a peacemaker and courageous; TODAY develops the character of Christ within me - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

So, do you know where you are going? Be careful how you answer. You see, whether we have a plan or not, whether we can verbalise our goals or not, and whether we arrive where we think or achieve what we determine, God's activity is in the journey which is simply made up of lots of TODAYs.