I recently received my Delta Airlines mileage statement and
I see that I have flown over 650,000 miles during my lifetime with that one air
carrier. That made me a bit curious as
to what that would look like using some other comparisons that might be more
familiar to us; so here we go … - The circumference of the world is 24,901 miles which means that I have circled our planet a little over 26 times …
- If I was running on a track, this would mean that I would have to circle it some 2,600,000 time to equal my Delta mileage …
- And if I were to simply drive my car with a good set of tires, changing them every 75,000 miles, I would have gone through 8.66 sets of tires in equaling this distance.
I can’t even begin to remember the number of flights,
airports, and destinations in my travels over the past 40 years. But as I reflect, there have been a lot of
fun times, some painful, a few disappointing, and many productive trips in
serving the Lord and teaching others about the life of His Son, Jesus.
Since becoming a Christ follower I have been on a journey
with the Lord. He reached down into the
mess of this world and saved me, challenged me to leave where I was and follow
His guidance in my life, called me to teach others about His Son and the Bible,
and commissioned me to lead others into a right relationship with Him. Every step of the way, the Lord has provided
for me in countless ways and for that I’m eternally thankful.
But I know at times I have become sidetracked by the comfort
of my surroundings, the selfishness of my own heart, the discouragement of
unfulfilled dreams, and the distractions of this world. Like most travelers
I’ve faced setbacks and disruptions to my travel plans and “life plans”, but my
heart’s desire has always been to continue the journey that God is leading me
on.
None of us know how many miles we will accrue on our “life”
mileage statement. And we surely don’t
have any idea about the amount of good and bad that we will encounter on our
journey. But we all will have a point in
time when we receive our final statement – Paul wrote about this in 2 Timothy 4:
6 “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and
the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the
race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now
there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to
all who have longed for his appearing.”
2014 offers us another chance to journey onward with
God. I challenge you to fight against
the things that would sidetrack you, to keep in mind the finish of your
journey, and to be faithful along the way.
You can make the journey more enjoyable and exciting by
regularly reading God’s Word (Grace Church Bible reading plan called The
Journey – see the website: http://www.gc3.org/tp40/page.asp?ID=319950),
building relationships with other believers in our cells and classes, and
telling those who don’t have a personal relationship with God about His Son,
Jesus.
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