A Daily Pilgrimage
When
we use the word “pilgrimage” I know we are normally speaking about a trip to a
religious site such as Jerusalem or Mecca, for religious purposes. Usually such trips are a once in a lifetime
event. But as I made the commute to my
office in Queens today, I couldn’t help but think of the millions of people who
make a daily pilgrimage to their
places of work in Manhattan and other parts of NYC.
Statistics
tell us that almost 2 million people commute into Manhattan every day, drawing
more commuters than any other county in the nation. All one needs to do is try to cross the
George Washington Bridge, pass through the Lincoln tunnel, stand in the middle
of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, or catch a subway during rush hour to get a
feel for the mass of people making their pilgrimage
each day to an office, school, hospital or some other place of work in the
City. (And, that’s not even considering
the tourists who are moving about!) As frustrating, difficult, and time
consuming as it might be, these people are making the trip each day because of the benefit they receive in
return (i.e. the paycheck!). For them,
the pilgrimage is, at least to some
degree, worth the effort.
In
Psalm 84, the Psalmist writes of another kind of pilgrimage when he gives us
these words: “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts
on pilgrimage…They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God
in Zion.” (Psalm 84:5, 7 – NIV) These are people who are living their lives
as a pilgrimage towards God. These
are people who are making a journey through life with one goal in mind: to live
forever in God’s presence. Although the
journey may not always be easy, they press on knowing that the end result of
the journey will be well worth whatever effort is required of them. They have determined to live their lives as a
pilgrimage, believing that one day
they will receive their reward as they enter forever into the presence of
Almighty God!
As I
think about it, it’s not a bad way to look at our lives—i.e. to see our lives
as a journey, a pilgrimage, towards
God. By doing so, we realize that the
goal of our lives is much greater than anything we might find in this
world. And, no matter how frustrating
and difficult life may become, we press forward filled with faith and hope, believing
that it will be well worth our effort, for at the end of the pilgrimage we will experience the joy of
God’s eternal presence.
“Surely you have granted him eternal
blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.” (Psalm 21:6 –
NIV)
Keep
on moving and have a great day!
Pastor
Tim Harris
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