2012-09-09 Journeying with Paul (Leslie Hawthorne Klingler).pdf

As people on a journey, we cannot construct immovable fences, we cannot assume that the wells from
which we now drink or the earthly foundations upon which we now construct our lives are ours for longer
than the present time. We cannot amass unnecessary material wealth, for excess becomes a burden. We
cannot assume we always know where we are going, and what others think of us is going to change with
the nature of the territory we traverse.
The metaphor of the Christian life as a journey is one of the most apt and familiar metaphors of the
church. The Old Testament is the story of God moving God’s people through time and space, both
allowing and disregarding the boundaries, borders, and lines in the sand that they constantly draw. As
God’s people make their way through history, God continually urges them to a new and richer way of
living, where human divisions no longer hold ultimate sway over our hearts and minds.
By the time of Paul, the message is clear: “You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same
direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
Embracing our status as lifelong travelers means being willing to release all but God’s love. We must
loosen our grip on our earthly treasures, our loves, our control, and even many of our convictions and
beliefs. We let go; we move on, we follow Christ.
Accepting our status as travelers also means we move on from both our successes and our failures. For
example, the Holy Spirit required that Paul leave Ephesus forever so the local people could take full
responsibility for the church there. “And so this is goodbye,” Paul says to the elders of the church in
Ephesus, “Now it’s up to you. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people” (Acts 20).
Paul was also asked to move on from failure. When he was in Jerusalem, God told him, “Hurry up! Get
out of here as quickly as you can. None of the Jews here in Jerusalem are going to accept what you say
about me” (Acts 22:18). Fully embracing our callings to travel with our Lord should make it easier when
God asks us to admit failure and move on.
Sometimes, it seems, God moves us from the comfort and stability of familiar land into the wilderness.
We ask, “God where am I? Where are you? Why am I here? Why does my life feel so barren, so empty?”