Life as a Journey

 

    Life does not always go as planned.  There are many ups and downs.  It is a lot like hiking.  It it a beautiful journey, but part of what makes it so beautiful is that it takes effort and endurance to get to your destination.  You travel where not everyone is willing to go, so it becomes an adventure.  You can feel closer to God in the isolation of the trail.  Life is a journey that is not easy, but worth taking in the moments and appreciating them all.

    Mary experienced motherhood in a way that no other mother ever can.  She became pregnant while still a virgin.  She did not have assistance of any man to become a mother, but she did have a good Godly man willing to be there every step of the way.  Mary was chosen by God to become the mother to God in the flesh.  His human body carried her DNA and God's divine DNA.  

    It was not the path she was looking for, but it took her life on a journey she would never be able to deny.  He accepting her path made her famous throughout all history.  Her life was complicated, but she lived it to the best of her ability.  She is not a goddess.  She is not divine.  She is not eternal like the trinity.  She was a human that accepted responsibility to raise Jesus.  She should not be worshipped, but she should be respected.

    Abraham began the Christian culture with establishing boundaries and divine order with the Jews.  It was Jesus that give it life and meaning.  He took the journey of centuries and made it where they made sense.  He tore away the blind folds where we can see God in a different way.  He made God relatable even though God never changed.

    Jesus' life was a blessing on all of us who came after his ascension through sanctification and salvation.  His life gave the people closest to him favor and meaning in a way it never would have had without him.  His mother his honored for having him, but she was only a small part in the journey of Jesus as a human.  His part was bigger than her and she understood that.

    Mary rejoiced in having Jesus as a son.  She got to watch him grow up.  She protected him with the help of his step father, Joseph.  Joseph loved Jesus as if he were his own son.  He taught Jesus how to be a man the best he could considering Jesus was part of the establishment of gender roles.  The point is that Joseph did what a father should do.  He did not treat Jesus any differently than any of his other sons.

    Jesus is the one that gives our life journey a heartbeat.  He makes us more than what we would be without him.  He accepts us in his family as a sibling, not just adopted.  He gets us off the sidelines to really live a full life.  Give Jesus your fear and watch how he will transform it into something productive.  

    A life as a journey is a life of focus and direction.  It is walking with Jesus in faith.  It is trusting that God's Word is the truth and living long enough to back up that trust.  Without faith all this is hard to understand, but salvation is only the first step.  Your life develops from that point to seeing, hearing, and understanding in all new ways.  It is your choice on how you want to travel in life.

Psalm 143:7-12, Matthew 2:9-12, Luke 1:38-56, 2:16-20, John 8:54-59, & 1 Peter 1:16-21