When Jesus first invited the fledgling disciples to follow him, that was a clue that they were going somewhere! The life of discipleship is a journey. In these summer months, especially, folks take lots of trips. There are family vacations, visits to relatives, week-end get-aways. And for many of us, travel is part of the regular business we do, so that continues even when there are additional special trips for R & R.
To drive the nation's interstates or stand in the security check line at airports makes us think that practically everyone is going somewhere! Whether the trip is to the grocery store or an excursion in a distant country, our lives today seem composed of one journey after another.
In her book of a generation ago, Journey Inward, Journey Outward, Elizabeth O'Connor reminded us that the spiritual journey has both an interior and an exterior expression. There's internal life of prayer, focus on biblical teaching, listening to the leading of the Spirit, the guidance for our personal living that comes from the community of faith. And there is the way we do things in the world, our attitudes and actions, that reflect the interior values that shape us. Discipleship is a journey, but we aren't going in all directions at once -- though that may be how we feel. We are following the Leader.
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