In The Way

Suppose that you were planning to take your family on the trip of a lifetime. This particular excursion was a package deal you were going to enjoy with several other families you loved and delighted in spending time with. You knew, or at least thought, that the destination of your journey was to the south. Everyone joyfully secured their ticket, proceeded to the airport, and greeted the pilot while boarding the plane. Relaxing with a coke and peanuts, you sat back to enjoy the company of your neighbor while chatting about the joys of life. It was an early morning flight and the rising of the sun excited your anticipation of a new day with a spark of enthusiasm. Suddenly you felt the plane make a turn in direction. You were confirmed in you suspicion when the bright orange light of the sunrise was no longer out to the left side of the plane. You were now flying directly into the brilliant eastern sky. The land mass of Florida was no longer beneath you, instead there was nothing but ocean. It is obvious from your observation that you are no longer heading south. With some anxiety in your voice, you express your concern to the flight attendant. The flight attendant checks with the pilot and sure enough a decision has been made to change course. The pilot explains that after a more careful study of the map and a confirming consolation with the tower he had no choice but to make a correction in the bearings of the plane. He realized that the course they were on would only take them to Miami and surely no one wanted to go there. He was convinced that they were in the way that led to the land of promise, with a city whose streets were paved with pure gold, where the river of life flowed freely, and where the sun never set. Plus, the King and Prince of this great land was preparing a grand feast for them and even invited them to stay in His palace. He was sure that all the passengers would rejoice in the new course, and many of them did. Can you imagine his surprise when the flight attendant returned to tell him there were some passengers that wanted to get back on the old course? Flying out over the ocean into a land they could not see was quite disconcerting to say the least. Some objected, "we don't have enough fuel", to which the pilot assured them that the Tower promised to send a Tanker to always keep their fuel capacity full to overflowing. Some just wanted everyone to be happy. They boarded the plane with the impression that this was a vacation and the objective was for everybody to have a good time. The journey itself was clearly more important to them than the destination. The pilot was assured by the Tower that all he needed to do was keep the plane pointed into the Son. Seeing that it was so bright in his eyes, that part of his job was uncomplicated. Convincing all the passengers, well that was a whole another story. That part of the job was way beyond his expertise, as a matter of fact it was beyond his ability. All he knew was that he could not disobey the instructions of the Tower. If he took his eyes off the Son to answer every objection of the passengers surely they would veer off course, and that would be disastrous for all.

We eventually had to change planes because of an overwhelming mutiny among the passengers. Now there is a joyful agreement on board that "East" is the way to go. With no airstips below and the uncertainty of storms ahead, it is a journey of faith. We are confident that the Tower will keep us on course by never allowing The Son to set. Oh for the day when our journey comes to a glorious end.