01-30-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 30, 2024
Where do we go from here? I’m sure that’s a question most of us have asked many times and in many different situations. I was thinking about it while I was on vacation last week, and what struck me was not the first part of the question: Where do we go, but the last word: here. The question assumes you know where you are, yet I would suggest a lot of people and organizations could not necessarily answer the question well. Where am I currently in regard to my mental health, my spiritual journey, the relationships I claim to be important, my physical location, etc. As is often said, it is difficult to get to any destination if you do not know your current location. Where we are, whether we name it or not, greatly determines where we will end up. Or, how will we end up? I like the way the Message translates the Apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians 5: “They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself.” If that’s where you are, it is very premature to ask the question, where do we go from here?

Provide me, Lord God, with trusted friends and encouragers, along with a heart willing to explore my own baggage and history. I need to know who I am and where I am if I am going to follow you with more faithfulness each day of life. Amen.