Many of you will recognize this theme song from the 1975 movie Mahogony. It was sung by Diana Ross.
Do You Know Where You\’re Going To?
Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to, do you know?
Do you get what you’re hoping for?
When you look behind you there’s no open door,
What are you hoping for, do you know?
As I read those words I can do nothing less than to ponder them and I ask myself, do I know in what direction my life is going? What do I hope for?
As I look behind me, and see the experiences of life that have shaped and formed me I am joyful for them. Notice I didn’t say ‘happy’, but joyful, for many of the experiences were rough going and I would not want to experience them again. And I’ve made mistakes. But as I look in the mirror to what I have become, and where I am going, I am joyful in the Lord! He has blessed me with life shaping experiences that have led to lifelong Christian formation. I can now look behind me to see closed doors and smile inwardly as to the invaluable experiences.
We cannot know the exact direction our life is going, but we can set the course through planning and preparation. We begin this process very early in life usually with the aid of another (parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, etc.) They set our course, give us the directions, and then set us free hopefully with all the right tools.
If you were to list the tools you’ve had in life, those you have passed on, what would that list look like?
As some of you are reading this, you may be thinking of your children and asking yourself, what have/did I pass on? Did I include the very ones that matter the most; the teachings that are for lifelong Christian formation?
What are you hoping for, do you know?
Lifelong Spiritual Formation is the essential tool to the whole of life. If we have given/received nothing but spiritual directives then we have given/received the love of our Maker and Redeemer, the tools that are life sustaining.
It’s not too late you know. If you were not given the directions of life, you can still receive them with some effort. It takes effort to learn the ways of the Lord; it takes effort to teach the ways of the Lord. But we have a responsibility to ourselves and our younger generations. We have a responsibility to our Lord and our church family.
Many of us hope for, we yearn for that one thing in life that is solid, strong, never failing and life sustaining. And it is right in front of you. Grab it, hold on to it and never let it go.
“For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:12-13
Where are you going to, do you know?
Come to the gathering of believers, to your church, with no pretense, with the doors of the past closed, ready to open doors to the future. Join a Sunday school class and/or the Wednesday evening Bible Studies for that is where lifelong spiritual formation begins.
Receive and give the tools of life and then you will know, you will be assured of hope and direction.
“Growing spiritually is an exciting adventure. As individual and as communities, we change, we are renewed, and we share in renewing God’s creation every day. As Christians who claim life in the power of the Holy Spirit, we live and rejoice in what God already has done, what God is doing, and what God wants for us. Spiritual growth is a lifelong process, and spiritual disciplines are the means by which we continue that process.”
Foundations: Shaping the Ministry of Christian Education in your congregation.
During this season of lent we are given the opportunity to experience something other than in our normal everyday lives; to experience something other than ourselves. We are invited to give up a part of ourselves that we would otherwise be dependent upon, or to cling. We are invited to experience the other possibilities in our self. In that process (those 40 days) we begin to suffer over the loss of the familiar. So often times it is much easier to continue clinging to old ways, to continue dependence on the familiar, to snuggle in the blanket of false security.
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