Hebrews 11:8-10 (NIV)
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By
faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign
country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of
the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and builder is God.
I have
been rereading Tim Keller’s book on prayer. Early in the book he talks about
prayer as an act of pilgrimage, seeking after God. I was struck by the idea of
a pilgrimage. It is not a part of my faith tradition, but I am familiar with
the concept. I looked up pilgrimage on the internet and found this definition
from the encyclopedia Britannica.
Pilgrimage, a
journey undertaken for a religious motive. Although some pilgrims have wandered
continuously with no fixed destination, pilgrims more commonly seek a specific
place that has been sanctified by association with a divinity or other holy
personage. The institution of pilgrimage is evident in all world religions and
was also important in the pagan religions of ancient Greece and Rome.
All kinds
of people take pilgrimages for a variety of reasons. Muslims make a concerted
effort to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. Many
Roman Catholics make a pilgrimage to Rome. Many Christians make a pilgrimage to
the Holy Land in an effort to get closer to the places where Jesus walked.
Other religions encourage pilgrimages as well.
The
problem with all of these different pilgrimages is that they fall short of the
goal. It is not that they are bad, necessarily, just that they are short-sighted.
The writer of Hebrews talks about a very different kind of pilgrimage. He first
refers to Abraham, who in faith obeyed God and followed Him to a land he did
not know. Then he expands this idea to include a broader scope of people.
Hebrews 11:13-16
(NIV)
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not
receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a
distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People
who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If
they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had
opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a
heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has
prepared a city for them.
Paul and
Peter both pick up on this idea of the ultimate pilgrimage. Peter challenges us
to live as aliens ands stranger in this world, refusing to settle down and make
our home here. We have been called to something far higher and far greater.
1 Peter 2:9-11 (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are
the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received
mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to
abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
Paul
challenges us to focus on the kingdom to come rather than the kingdom of this
world.
Philippians 3:20-21
(NIV)
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything
under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like
his glorious body.
A friend
of mine recently reminded me of song we used to sing quite often, This World
is not My Home. “This world is not my home, I just passing through. My
treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from
Heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.” We are
on a journey to a specific destination, where we will be with Christ in His
glory.
Many
people use the idea of being on a journey to describe our lives. It is a
powerful image, but it is possible to be on a journey that takes us nowhere. A
pilgrimage is different. It has a specific destination in mind. For those of us
who are followers of Jesus, that destination is Christ’s presence in Heaven.
I know
how easy it is to forget that we are on pilgrimage and that this world is not
our home. It is easy for us to get discouraged along the way. It is tempting to
give up the rigors of a pilgrimage and settle for an easier path. But we need
to keep our eyes on the goal. Again, Paul addressed this challenge in his
letter to the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
(NIV)
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet
inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles
are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix
our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is
temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
I am
intrigued by the idea of being on pilgrimage. It challenges me to see the hardships
of life as a part of the adventure. It gives me the energy to keep moving
forward. It challenges me not to give up and settle for something less. For
those of us who are followers of Jesus, our entire life is a pilgrimage toward
an eternal goal.
Philippians 3:12-14
(NIV)
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made
perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold
of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one
thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I
press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me
heavenward in Christ Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment