Joy In The Journey

JOY IN THE JOURNEY

Back in 1987 a musician named Michael Card wrote a song called Joy in the Journey that is one of my favourites. The song says, “There is a joy in the journey. There’s a light we can love on the way. There is a wonder and wildness to life, and freedom for those who obey.”

The bible says that the Cristian life is like a journey. It is a path we follow, a road we travel along. There will be good days and bad days. There will be hills to go over and valleys to get through. There will be delays and detours along the way. Through it all, there will be joy, if we have the proper focus.

Near the end of his life, the Apostle John wrote a letter to the churches in Asia Minor (present day Turkey). He being his letter by summing up what the Christian life is really all about.

1Jn 1:1-7 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched -- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

How do we have joy in the journey? By remembering these 4 important truths;

1. The Right Foundation – our starting point

For there to be joy in the journey, you need to have the right starting point. If you have ever used a GPS to navigate you know that it does not work unless it can first figure out where you are. You cannot know the direction you are going until you first understand where you are. Likewise, to have joy in the journey you need to have the right starting point.

1 Jn 1:7 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched -- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

John uses 4 words here to describe his encounter with Jesus. Notice the progression. He says first, that which we have heard. There are lots of things that you have heard about and that is your only experience of it. I am sure that you have all heard me talk about the country of Kuwait. You probably know that this country exists and have maybe heard some stories about it. For most people, that is about it. Next, John says that which we have seen. Maybe you saw the news footage from Kuwait during the gulf war back in the 90s or have seen a documentary about it. A picture is worth a thousand words, so seeing something brings it to life in an even greater way. Next, John says that which we have looked at. The Greek verb is THEOMAI and it means to look closely at something or to visit it. Maybe you had a chance to visit Kuwait, or spend a weekend there. Lastly, John says that which our hands have touched. That means to experience fully. I lived in Kuwait for 10 years, so I have experience what it means to truly live there. Do you see the progression?

Think about Tesla cars. I have heard about them. I have seen them driving around town. There was a Tesla store in Orlando where I had a chance to actually sit in one and play with the buttons, but I have never truly experienced one. For that you would have to ask Kirk.

The same is true of our relationship with Jesus. For some Christianity is just something that they have heard about. Maybe they have a friend who is a Christian or a parent or grandparent. That is about as far as they go. For some it is something that they have seen. They have been to church and have sung the songs. They have heard the gospel preached and understand biblical truth, but that is about as far as they go. For others they may have been coming to church for years. They have looked at the truth. They have read the bible and they have seen the difference that Jesus can make in a person’s life, but that is about as far as they go. However, to fully understand what it means to be a Christian you have to have a personal relationship with Jesus. There must be an experience of Him in your life. A practical tangible encounter with the living God.