In
2004, British actors Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman decided to
ride their
motorcycles from London to New York City.
They documented the entire thing and then created a show
that they called
“Long Way Round”. Interestingly,
the program
contained very little footage detailing their ride across Europe
or North
America. Instead, it
focused on their
struggle to cross Mongolia and eastern Russia, which was the most
difficult
part of their journey. Several
times,
they considered quitting or skipping particularly tough sections,
but then
refused. They knew that,
for the journey
to be complete, they had to ride all of it.
The destination was important, but so too was how they got
there. In the end, because
of what they learned and
how they grew, they found that the difficult sections were the
best and most
memorable parts.
When it comes to
spiritual
things, it is easy to think “destination”.
Most people believe that faith is simply about going home,
but that is
only half of the story. The
journey is
important too. Jesus
proves that right
at the start of his ministry.
In
Matthew 4:1-11, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be
tempted by
Satan. He is faced with
three
temptations, each of which, at their core, say, “There is no need
to suffer! Here is a short
cut that can get you the end result”. At each point, Jesus refuses
and commits
himself to the much more difficult path of self-sacrifice, service
and the cross.
It
should not surprise us, then, that Jesus’ first sermon starts off
by saying, “Blessed
(or “well off”) are the poor in spirit… those who mourn… the meek…
those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness… the peacemakers… the
persecuted and the
insulted” (Matthew 5:1-11). These
people
are blessed, not because their lives are easy, but because, by
God’s power,
they have taken their hardships and used them for something good. Their troubles have caused
them to grow and
have taught them lessons that could be gained in no other way.
I
do
not know what you are facing today, but I do know this: There are
no short
cuts. Trying to avoid pain
and hardship
only makes things worse. However,
when
we learn to walk with and trust God, our troubles can become our
blessings.
Godliness is found
when we commit
to the long way round.
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