The Journey

The first part of our mission is to encourage individuals and families on their faith journey. What is a journey? Webster's defines a journey as something suggesting travel or passage from one place to another, the journey from youth to maturity.

If you have ever been on a journey before you are well aware that a journey is often difficult. A journey often takes commitment, sacrifice, and team work.

When I think of journey I think of Lance Armstrong and his struggle with cancer. I think of his amazing determination, hard work and passion to cycle. I think of his record breaking 6 Tour De France titles. A journey is something that molds us and refines us. It makes us stronger.

The faith journey is a life-long commitment to follow Christ and to allow yourself to become more like Christ. The journey includes the good, the bad and the ugly in our daily lives.

The big question we face on a daily basis however is how do we help others start the faith journey? How do we reach others with the truth and love of Christ? I think D.L. Moody said it the best...

A man once testified in one of D.L. Moody's meetings that he had lived "on the Mount of Transfiguration" for five years. "How many souls did you lead to Christ last year?" Moody bluntly asked him. "Well," the man hesitated, "I don't know." "Have you saved any?" Moody persisted. "I don't know that I have," the man admitted. "Well," said Moody, "we don't want that kind of mountaintop experience. When a man gets up so high that he cannot reach down and save poor sinners, there is something wrong."

The answer of reaching this generation is through involvement and relationship. It’s easy to judge someone else from a distance. It’s easy to be critical of others actions and to look down on them. However, when we follow the example of Christ we see involvement and relationship creating an compassion in our hearts for others. It through relationship that other see Christ’s power & love is real.

Philippians 2:5-8— Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

If anyone had the right to be critical and judgemental of us it was God. If anyone had the right to get mad and leave us alone it was Him! He created us for relationship with Him and we turned our backs on Him. We are the ones who rejected Him! Yet, how did He breach the chasm between us. What was God’s way of reminding us of His love? He left His thrown in heaven and become nothing taking the very nature of a servant. Involvement and relationship!

So lets continue to build relationship, love and serve those around us. Let's watch God take us further along on our faith journey and lets help others start theirs. A journey is hard work but always worth reaching the destination.