Journey.  I like the metaphor of Christian faith and life as a journey for many reasons. Journeys suggest seeking, discovering, adventure, trekking into the unknown with a sense of purpose and arriving at a destination – there to experience amazement and joy.

But journeys can be fraught with risk and threats.

As I write this, hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing war-torn Syria and journeying into Eastern and Central Europe – hoping for safety and a new life.  Not all journeys are ventures of happiness and delight. On the contrary, much of our journey in life and faith is through times of darkness, discouragement, fear, uncertainty, doubt, loss, and grief.

Above all, there is the wonder of life’s journey taken in step with our Creator, walking with Jesus, trekking with the One who knows the path and guides us along that path on a journey marked by welcoming and embracing love, a deep sense of well-being, and joy.

Jesus called men and women to enter into a journey of faith in him; to hold specific beliefs about him, to learn to know him (and in doing so to know God), to be obedient to his leadership in their lives, and to become identified with him by becoming like him.  He continues to call people to this journey today – to be his disciple in order to experience life as God intended and to bless this world with the presence of Jesus in and through us.