The Kingdom

  About a year or so ago I read John Bunyan's classic The Pilgrim's Progress , a book I enjoyed more than I thought I would.  I had expected a dry slog, but instead Bunyan did such a fine job of illustrating the challenges and temptations we face in our life that I placed myself in the middle of the story very easily.  I was surprised to find C.S. Lewis' updated version The Pilgrim's Regress not as enticing.  Bunyan captured the truth of the Christian life in the fact that it is a journey, and we finish in a very different place than we started, filled with adventures and character that we have gained along the way.  Not that we are any more deserving of God's love at the end of our journey than we are in the beginning, but we have hopefully grown in faith by the end of it.

  In preparing for the beginning of our study on 1 Timothy, I was reading the first chapter to Rachel and asking her what she thought about Paul's language describing faith as a fight.  I wonder what we have lost in ceasing to describe faith as such.

  One of my biggest struggles as a Christian is to continue to look down the long road.  It's easy to get caught up in the here and now, the immediate, the pressing.  It's much harder to take a long look down the road and see where I am growing--what kind of person am I becoming?  What are the habits I'm putting in place now that will help me grow later.  A good friend of mine is helping guide me through the Ignatian exercises--they're not always fun, but I believe they are helping me grow.

  Last week, I had lunch with another pastor, one who has served the Kingdom for many years, and he suggested I pray for God to show me my growing edge.  It was a great recommendation, for it lifted up several helpful ideas.

  For starters, it reminds me that I abide in God's grace.  God longs for me to grow in my relationship with Him, but I will only do so thanks to the presence and reality of His Holy Spirit.  When He gives me His eyes to see, then I will grow.  Not until then, no matter how badly I may want it.

  Next, it points out the long time span of discipleship.  I may want instant results, but the reality is that God works far slower than I may want.  God's plan has been unfolding for over 6 billion years, and the final redemption may well be a long way off.  I won't be on this earth for that long, but I may be here for a while, and I'm not going to know everything in the next five years.  I need to be patient and let God lead me in a slow life of discipleship.  (I just picked up Eugene Peterson's A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society)

  Third, it reminds me that I am sinful.  I don't need much reminding of this, but I'm not perfect, and God loves me anyway.  I have plenty of directions to grow, and in seasons of my life I may grow in only one direction.  That's ok.  As long as God is driving the bus, I'm happy to be on board.

  It's going to be a long journey.