Decide Your Destination
“Life is a journey, not a destination.”
While those words, attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, sound good on the surface, we all would do well to pay attention to both our journey and our destination.
Recently, I read a news story about a United
Airlines passenger who boarded the wrong plane. The
passenger had intended to fly from Los Angeles to Managua, Nicaragua, through Houston. Six hours into the flight, he asked a flight attendant why it was taking so long to get to Houston. It was only then that he realized that this flight was going to Tokyo, Japan, and not to Houston, Texas.
In his case, it ended up working out. United paid for a two-night hotel stay as they worked out a new itinerary for the passenger and offered him a $1,000 travel credit. He was out nothing but a little extra time and some embarrassment as the media picked up the story. Other than that, not too shabby.
You might ask, how did this happen? There were several contributing factors. But I think the main one was that the passenger failed to stay focused on where he was headed. In the process of taking care of all the details along the journey, he lost sight of the destination.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7.13-14)
Jesus describes two journeys. One is easy and the other is hard. Based on that description alone, most people would opt for the easy journey. (And according to Jesus, most people do.)
But Jesus reminds us that the easy road is the worst road to take. It leads only to destruction. The harder journey is really the best decision. Though it is lonely, narrow, and full of difficulty, it is the only way that leads to life.
Most of the time, the harder journey leads to a better destination. That’s why people choose the harder journey. Not because the path is pleasant, but because of where the path leads.
There are 1,000 applications of this: If you want better health (destination), you have to be willing to eat right (journey). If you want financial freedom (destination), you have to be willing to live on a budget (journey). If you want a healthy marriage (destination), you have to love sacrificially (journey). If you want to raise up great kids (destination), then you have to parent and discipline them (journey). If you want great friendships (destination), you have to be a great friend (journey).
The greatest lesson is the eternal one. If you want to go to Heaven (destination), then you must follow Jesus (journey).
So, decide your destination carefully. Then, daily choose the journey that leads you there.