The End in Mind

 

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

—Philippians 1:6

I love the title of Eugene Peterson’s book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.¹ In this book, Peterson shares the “Psalms of Ascent.” Pilgrims repeated these Psalms as they traveled up to Jerusalem for feast days. Peterson likens the Christian walk to this pilgrimage.

God sees our lives, beginning to end, and plans to mature, or “complete,” us throughout. I understand the concept.

As a teacher, I can remember the fall when the school system changed my schedule from being an iterant teacher—in two or three buildings—and placed me at one elementary school full time. I could now think of these children as “mine.” And, I could map out what I felt they needed to learn, step-by-step, from kindergarten through the fourth grade. Even more, I could see them grow over these years.

This long view, or “longitudinal” plan, allowed me to plot each year. Then, I could plan each month or season. Finally, I could plan each individual lesson.

God has a longitudinal plan for our lives. Just as I didn’t share the full scope of the curriculum with my second graders, or burden them with constant assessments and adjustments for their growth, neither does God do this with us.

Sometimes, it looks as though God must not have a plan. Or, it appears that we have gotten off track somehow. In Romans 8:28, God assures us that:

…in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Said another way, His plan for us, though it may seem hidden, will weave all the threads together in the end.

Carolyn Custis James, in her book, Lost Women of the Bible,² describes those who walk this long walk as theologians. She writes:

The word theologian doesn’t appear in the Bible. Old Testament writers used a warmer, user-friendly expression, describing people who “walked with God.” A theologian takes a long walk through life with God—living in his presence, going his way, learning to see the world through his eyes, and getting to know his character so that trusting him in the dark stretches won’t be quite so hard. The theologian sees God at the center of everything. She lives with a profound confidence that he holds the whole world (including her) in his hands.

Sometimes it seems we are not moving forward. From day to day, things look and feel the same to us. But, when we look back, and we can do this through meditation and through looking at former journal entries we’ve written, we see that, indeed, God has led us, and we have moved closer to His ideal.

While on the pilgrimage, enjoy the sights. Know that God has planned this marvelous journey with a magnificent end!

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1 Peterson, Eugene H. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction 2nd edition. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Books, 2000.

2 James, Carolyn Custis. Lost Women of the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing Company, 2005. p. 34.