Who do you say He is…in your life today?

The concept of journeying is fundamental to the Christian faith. From the time that God commanded Abraham and Sarah to “leave [their] country and [their] people and [their] father’s household and go to the land I will show you,” people of faith have journeyed both physically and spiritually toward a deeper understanding of God and God’s purposes.

In the Middle Ages, Christians were encouraged to make pilgrimages to special holy places called shrines. It was believed that if you prayed at these shrines you might be forgiven for your sins and have a better chance of going to heaven. Others went to shrines hoping to be cured from an illness they were suffering from.

Journeying, or peregrinatio, from which we get the English word “pilgrimage,” was also essential to Celtic Christianity. Believers often left home and loved ones with no specific physical destination in mind, but rather to go on an inner journey to find Christ. They believed their home was not this world, but the heavenly Jerusalem, toward which all of life moves us. They saw themselves as “guests of the world.” Every experience encountered and every activity undertaken on the way was an opportunity to meet or to represent Christ.

At the center of God’s vision for the future is a wonderful dream of a world in which all of creation is restored to the wholeness and harmony of relationships that were broken through the disruption of the Fall. God looks forward to the day when all people are restored physically, emotionally, and spiritually. God’s dream is that we live and work together in harmony and mutual trust, caring for the earth and relating personally to our loving Creator.

To be a disciple of Christ means to grab hold of this vision and make it the destination for our life’s journey. We deliberately choose to lay down our own self-centered lives and consciously live each moment journeying towards God’s presence and towards a life that is fully integrated with God’s will for restoration and wholeness. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work in us, breaking down the barriers that distort our ability to lead a life that is fully integrated with God’s purposes.

According to Henri Nouwen, “Discipline is the creation of boundaries that keep time and space open for God—a time and place where God’s gracious presence can be acknowledged and responded to.” This is the kind of discipline we all need in order to mature into the people God wants us to be.

Lent, the season before Easter that commemorates the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness before his ministry began, invites us to contemplate our own Christian journey and consider the disciplines that we need to become whole. How can we deepen our relationship to God as we represent and meet with Christ through our words and action?

Many of us are unfamiliar with the practice of Lent, though its observance is gaining popularity in all kinds of churches from Baptist to Pentecostal. Those of us who do acknowledge it tend to think of Lent as a time to give up a non-essential food item, like chocolate, or activities such as watching TV. Some of us fast for a day or two and get a warm glow of satisfaction because of our sacrifice, but these observances make little if any difference to the ongoing journey of our lives.

Lent is not really about sacrifice or deprivation. In the early church, this was a time of preparation for those about to be baptized. Today it is more often regarded as a season of soul-searching and repentance for all Christians as a preparation for the joy and celebration of Easter.

Unfortunately for many of us, our soul searching is as perfunctory as our sacrifices. We spend a little more time reading the bible and praying. Some of us spend a few hours working with a local mission, but otherwise our lives are unchanged. And after Easter, there is very little to show for our commitment.

This year during Lent, be invited to enter into a journey with Jesus toward the Cross, a journey that will change lives forever. Be ready to set aside time to deepen your relationship with God by entering the brokenness of our world. Allow yourself to encounter Christ as you reflect on all the aspects of your life and our world that distort your ability to live as effective representatives of God and God’s kingdom.

Over the remaining  weeks of Lent, as we journey with Christ toward the cross, examine these areas of brokenness and explore how we can move closer to God and more effectively be God’s hands of healing and wholeness.