“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
Some years ago on holiday in California, I stood on the clifftops looking down at magnificent beaches. The sea was filled with surfers constantly shifting position to ride the face of their selected wave. I also saw people in their 70s and 80s jogging down the steps in the cliff and then surf for 30 minutes before jogging back up, showing significant fitness levels. In chatting to some of these silver surfers over coffee, I discovered they’d been at this for years. The art lay in paddling out to where the wave rose just ahead of breaking, and then committing to one wave, paddling hard before rising on the board, digging the board’s inner edge in the direction along which they intended to travel. The critical element was their commitment to the wave.
The Magi had to make a commitment to their sighting of this unusual star. They had a sign, but to pursue that sign they had to make some radical changes to their current way of life. As the Magi saddled their camels and said goodbye to friends and family, they were in effect paddling hard to ride the face of a divine wave of human destiny, a wave that would carry them to the feet of Jesus. It was a high-risk commitment. They let go of what they knew long before being able to lay hold of all they hoped for.
This captures the essence of discipleship. Until and unless we make some creative commitment to a future possibility, we run the danger of stagnating. Pursuing Jesus can become a repetitive pattern practised year in and year out. It lies with each of us to determine what positive elements we are seeking to create within our future. Many disciples tire along the way and abandon their pilgrimage. God invites us to look for what we have yet to discover, for God is an eternal source of adventure and revelation.
QUESTION
What positive elements do you want to create for your future?
PRAYER
Thank you, God, that you invite us to explore life with you now and in the life to come.
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