At the moment I am on a business journey. I am exploring places and meeting people that will help with planning and development at my work. The travel objectives are to enlarge the vision, for without a journey, the vision can be weak and limited. But journeys themselves can be arduous.,
Yesterday I flew over the Mojave Desert and considered the wagon trains that hoped to survive their westward path to a promised land. Then I marveled at the rugged beauty of the Grand Canyon. Even from 30,000 feet, it looked impossible to cross. I wondered, “How does anyone ever get to the mesas above the canyon floor?”
At the same time, I thought about the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings. What is the meaning of the Psalm for the weary travelers – “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say: ‘His love endures forever.’”
I think of Christ – the divine human – in his last week of the apparent end of his earthly journey, the cross looming large. Could he say, "His love endures forever?"
With Christ as my leader, my journeys have included joys and sorrows, exaltations and scars, hopes and fears. These could not be experienced without the journey, yet my sense of home is strengthened through each passageway.
Because of the reality of each step and the one who guides those steps, I can give thanks to the Lord, whose love truly endures forever, and whose right hand has done mighty things!
As I write, I see the Teton Mountains and National Forest. What a contrast to my Goshen, Ind., home! The rugged beauty of the snow-covered mountains is breathtaking. The peaks and valleys remind me of life’s journeys. But still I think of home.
And there is a way home, vividly illustrated in the passes between the ranges as they are wide, open gates! I rejoice in hope with the Psalmist, “Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.”
My current journey lasts but days. My life’s journey may go on for years. My journey of hope goes on for eternity. In this Lenten season, I travel with Christ – my salvation – through the rough and dark yet hopeful terrain. As travelers together he reminds me of an important principle for living, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Home is enriched by the greater joy of the journey.
