Archives: November 2010...

Editorial...

When I was a kid we had this regular Sunday afternoon event: a walk. Now, I’m not talking a basic stroll down the road… Oh no. I’m talking get The mum, dad, two brothers, pet dog Polly and me in our burnt orange coloured Austen Allegro Estate (an eighties classic) and head off into the countryside to walk up and down some big hill.

The thing is, my brothers and me hated it… and I mean hated. The dog loved it. Mum loved it. Dad liked the views. But we would do anything we possibly could to get out of the weekly ritual… or at least speed it up and get to the end of the walk sooner. If we had to go, we’d run up a hill extra quick to get to the summit, take in the sprawling countryside and get bored as we waited for the parents to catch up. But they’d just take it extra slow, wandering along like they had no care in the world.

 After a while and as we got a bit older we’d protest and say stuff like ‘what’s the point of all this walking, it’s so boring, can’t we just drive to look at the view and be home in time for the Wonder Years?’ But my parents had a staple answer… ‘A walk is just that, a walk. It’s not just about getting to the end, but enjoying the journey too’. Sounded stupid to me back then.

Recently I went on a walk and quite enjoyed it. This is scary in itself as it indicates I’m getting a bit like my parents, which is weird. But I was also scared as I suddenly saw the wisdom of walking. I didn’t rush to get to the nice picturesque destination, I didn’t moan and I didn’t worry about missing the telly. I just meandered along, taking in the sites and had an all round nice time.

This got me thinking about God, life and trying to be a Christian (you knew this was coming). It’s so easy to rush through life and wish stuff away so we can get to the good stuff. We all want to be healed, to stop sinning, to be perfect and to serve God in amazing ways, but not many of us like to do the walking it takes to get there. It seems like the goal or summit that we dream of often ignores the benefit of the journey.

The thing is, being in relationship with God is a journey. We know a bit about what the ideal end of what that journey looks like (see Revelation chapter 21), but there’s also so much to take in on our travels before we reach that destination. It’s like our attitude to Jesus. His birth (the incarnation) and death (the resurrection) are quite rightly key things in our faith… but his journey between the two, his actual life, is full of amazing stuff that teaches us just as much about the character and love of God as the beginning and end of his life.

Maybe that can be true of us too. Our journey with God is more than just the beginning (our conversion) and the end (our death and eternal future with God) but the middle, our walk!  I guess this is where we learn more, love more and get to be more like Jesus.

So, no more ‘are we there yet?’ Look around you, what’s God doing now? What is God revealing to you when you read one of the gospels or another bit of the Bible? If you're reading the Bible in a Year with us make sure you take in the reading and give God time to speak, rather than just rattle through it as quickly as possible!

What about asking God to speak when you listen to some music, watch a film or read a book? You might know where you want to be, but what’s God doing in you on your journey to get there? The key is to make sure you try and enjoy and learn from the journey, rather than wish you were at the end already!

Anyway, enough of my parents' wisdom, we’ve got a few great articles this month, including some stuff from Mike P on loving people who we find hard work to be around, a look at not giving up and having a fighting spirit with Beth plus some stuff on the benefit of failing from student Dan. On top of all of that David Westlake pitches in with advice on smelling like Jesus and our good Manchester based mate Andy Hawthorne gives a whirlwind tour of Acts that you can listen to! It’s all-good!

We hope you enjoy the read. Give us a shout if you have any suggestions for articles and future content.

Dan
editor@soulsurvivor.com

P.S Don't forget to check the Bible in One Year blog for daily updates and encouragement on reading the Bible.
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