Travel to Eternity
We just had a wonderful celebration of the Feast of Pentecost – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. It is a milestone in the history of the Church -when the Comforter came upon them. Once more there was proof that all of God's promises in Jesus are “yes and amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20). It is great to look back into the history of the community of the saints and be reminded of what God did for them: 6000 years ago, 4000 years ago, 2000 years ago, etc. How He always carried His Church though the stormy waves of worldly oppression.
At the same time, we celebrated confirmation for 5 of our younger members of Zion, and this commemorates a milestone in today's life of the Church. Three girls and two boys made a promise to hold the very same faith as that of the apostles, faith of the Church Fathers, faith of the Reformation; the same faith their parents and grand-parents were raised in. Being taught, being trained, being prayed for, they now join the ranks of the Church that brings the Gospel into the world.
Therefore, this celebration of confirmation was a not THE END. It is a milestone, but very seldom can a milestone be the destination. You don't stop at the mileage sign that says “San Luis Obispo 10” and pitch your tent there, unload your belongings, and wait for the pastor to show up if the goal of the trip is to come to Zion Lutheran.
In a similar way, our newly confirmed, along with the rest of us, have a long way to go; for our destination is Heavenly Jerusalem. The best analogy here would be from the field of Physics. In outer space one unit of measurement is a light year. It's the distance that a ray of light would travel in a year. It's a huge distance. 365 days of travel at the speed of about 1000,000,000 feet per second. But if you think about it, this measurement of distance is based on an idea of time. Then the phrase “we have a long way to go” turns into “we have a long life to live.” We have a long life to live until Jesus will welcome us to our eternal home (John 14:1-2). And then, then what? That home is eternal – we will be with Him forever.
As we begin the second half of the Church Year, we are to celebrate important milestones – enjoying the present and commemorating the past. At the same time, we go into the future, keeping out feet firm, making every step closer to home, advancing our travel to the eternity. We do it as the sign over the door on our Fellowship Hall stage says, trying to be faithful in the teaching of the apostles, fellowship, breaking of the Bread, and prayers (Acts 2:42). In this way we are guided by the Holy Spirit. That is why we fully rely on Him who is faithful to lead our travel to eternity, to completion (Philippians 1:3-6).
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