As the song lyrics remind us, it’s “summertime and the livin is easy.” There is something about the rhythm of summer; schools are on break, for some work schedules are slower and people pile onto planes, trains and automobiles (and don’t forget cruise ships) to venture to familiar and new destinations throughout the summer months. I have fond memories of summer vacations, growing up with my family. We drove on all of our vacation trips, usually to visit family.
Prior to leaving, my dad would make his yearly pilgrimage to the AAA office to get what was called a “triptik.” This was a map Triple A would provide, with the route highlighted and stops along the way; rest stops and motels, etc. Remember this was before the internet and GPS. With their map in hand and his worn copy of the US Road Atlas, we would pile into the station wagon at an unreasonable hour in the morning and the six of us, plus the family dog, would head toward our destination.
While we made plenty of long lasting memories at each of our final destinations, we have just as many from the journey. I remember the lunch picnics we would have at a highlighted rest stop. Mom always packed sandwiches, chips, pretzels and a punch of her own imagination, made up of grape juice and frozen lemonade concentrate. I never realized that we did this because it cost too much for six of us to eat out along the way. I remember the Chex Mix mom always made in her well used oven roaster, decades before you could purchase it in bags. Each son got a coffee can full and it had to last the entire trip. Since there were no smartphones, portable DVD players or hand held electronics, we had to take books and magazines, coloring books and mad libs and play car games to pass the time.
The Christian life and discipleship is more about the journey and less about the destination. Too often Christians focus on the final destination, our eternal life with God, yet Scriptures tend to focus on the aspect of journey. We read about Abraham and Sarah’s journey from Haran to Canaan or Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised land; both with an emphasis on the traveler becoming who God intended them to be – the parents of a vast nation and a holy people.
The Gospels share with us the journey of Jesus, from the Jordan to the river, through the wilderness, to the sea of Galilee, to the cross and finally the empty tomb. Along the way Jesus called people to follow him. And where does he lead them? On a journey. At his ascension he invites the disciples to continue the journey to “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth (Acts 9:2). With his focus on the journey it is no wonder why early Christians were called followers of “the Way”. We need to be reminded that the Christian life is an ongoing journey of following Jesus. A journey that invites us to love God and love others, here and now, right where we are. How does your congregation and your ministries emphasize the journey of discipleship?