In talking to some people about their Christian experience, I mention their Christian “walk”. They look at me like I have described something to them that they don’t understand or was foreign to them. Their comments range from: “well I am a Christian , I have a relationship with Jesus Christ, what else do I need?” to “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
In today’s society, the concept of a journey to fulfill anything is a turnoff to people. ” just let me sign on the dotted line, and I can move on to something else.”, seems to be the attitude. I have had people say to me, ” I have been baptized,, repented of my sins, and asked Christ into my life. That is all I need, I am good to go.”
Certainly being baptized, repenting of sin and asking Christ into your life is the way to Salvation. But as Christians , there is a lot of the reality of being Christian between those two events. I hear the concept of “once saved, always saved” We can debate that concept but what it does for some is to excuse them from doing anything but checking the boxes and getting on about their life.
What I am getting to is that we Christians are on a journey. We are on a pilgrimage of faith and of discipleship. Ephesians says “for we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good work which God prepared in advance for us to do”
Pilgrimage tells us we are people who spend our lives going someplace. Going to God, whose path to getting there is the only way. We realize that this is not our home and we are now on the way to go home.
The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews said this about the process of Christian discipleship. “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses , let us throw of everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning the shame and sat down at the right hand of God.
We are in a growing, learning relationship. Growing in our beliefs, in our ability to show Christ’s love and learning how to share the message of Christ’s love and salvation with others.
Max Lucado tells us in one of his books, “God rewards those who seek Him, not those who seek doctrine or religion or systems or creeds. Many settle for these lesser passions, but the reward goes to those who settle for nothing less than Jesus Himself. And what is the reward? What awaits those who seek Jesus? Nothing short of the heart of Jesus and eternal life.” Paul says in 2 Corinthians : ” As the spirit of the Lord works with us we become more and more like Him”
That is what we do when we are on a Christian walk. We are striving to be more like Christ. Every step we take is a step to being more the person that God formed us to be. Wherever you are on your journey, on your walk, know that you are going on to perfection when you meet your God in eternity.. Amen.
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