How far are you traveling with God?
There are friendly questions asked of us such as, “How many states or countries have you been to or, what’s the furthest you have ever traveled?”
The implication with some of these inquiries is that the more you travel, the more experienced and knowledgeable you must be. With that mindset comes also the idea you are better for it, as if traveling to distant places and exotic locations makes you a better person.
Of course, there can be benefits to those encounters, but to think that somehow being a (world) traveler automatically bequeaths someone with superior attributes based on trips and journeys belies some important truths.
Not counting when Joseph took the young child Jesus to Egypt, which typically no child that young would remember, we can pick up the Life of Christ journeys starting when he was a teenager. According to most scholarly research it is recognized that Jesus traveled in his lifetime and ministry no further than a radius of 100 miles. Some say even less, but I went with the larger number.
It is said that within that 100-mile radius he walked thousands of miles. Consider the difference today in that we could travel 100 miles in a few hours and still not walk any of it.
In those travels, he gathered 12 main Apostles and other followers, confronted the religious leaders of that day, healed multitudes, challenged stereotypes and traditions, performed miracles, taught the masses that altered the landscape of his day and, with his Death and Resurrection, transformed world history.
He did it mainly during his 3 陆 years of ministry.
In his trips and encounters he healed people, touched their lives with his compassion, and changed for the better everyone who was open to him and what he represented. The accomplishments of someone who never left one general area are a true historical miracle. Too often we are influenced improperly with a cultural bent that assumes a higher mindset is bonded to the world traveler. Yet no one can lay claim to changing the world more than a young man who never really went that far physically.
We need to tether this example to our walk and to our travels with God and with others. Jesus didn’t travel that far across the lands, but he traveled far with God.
How far have you or are you traveling with God?
Some call this walking with God. Maybe you have never been to a foreign country. Does that make you less of a person because of it? Certainly not! Very few of us will never visit all 50 states, but that doesn’t mean the folks who have are superior solely because of their excursions.
It’s not about how much ground we cover. Being well-traveled is about how much, how deep and how far you go with God as you let him order your steps and influence your character, decisions, gifts and spirituality.
You don’t need to leave home to experience great things. It’s wonderful for those who have the time, energy and money to get up and hit the road, but how much more impactful and meaningful are those who walk or travel with God so much that they influence the world around them?
I’m not saying that you can’t do both, but I am saying that one is more important than the other. Jesus didn’t travel far as in radius mileage, but look and examine how far he traveled with God in his life, what he became and the legacy he built and left.
This isn’t just about, “no matter where I go, I believe that God is with me,” this is more about, James 4:8a NIV, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
How far can you go with God? As far as you’ll let him take you!
For past articles and work please visit traceygardone.com.