How important is it to you to know the destination before you start a journey? Some of us have the personality to just go with the flow, to enjoy the moment, and relax. For many, life is more about the journey than the destination. Part of me envies these people, and another part of me is like “what in the world are you people thinking?!?” These are the people who are slow walkers, slow drivers, take forever to tell a story, and are content to just sit in silence, enjoying the moments. I’ll give them this- the book of Ecclesiastes is on their side. I’ll try to emulate these guys to some degree, as it is important to stop and smell the roses in life often. That’s one thing I love about Ocala- oftentimes there is space to do this- to sit on the back porch and watch the storms roll through, or watch my boys roughhouse in delight on the trampoline.
However, there are times in life when knowing the end is critically important. There are situations when deadlines are involved, the urgency level is high, and the pressure is on. This is often the case in the business world, where there are profits and losses, bills to be paid, and much hard work and diligent strategy is needed. Growing up in the thriving business hub of Dallas, it seems like everyone is always in a hurry, everywhere. Its amazing, and I love it. The speed limit is more like a speed minimum, and cars are driving this way bumper to bumper in a feat of amazing coordination. It’s like synchronized ballet at 80 miles an hour.
Regardless of our personalities, our destination must drive our approach. I’m learning that with my children it is so important to take things slow, be patient, and savor every moment. I’ll never get this time back, and soon they’ll be teenagers and all bets are off at that point. However our youngest, Theo, is in a different situation. Unlike our other boys, simply keeping him alive through the end of the week is a big deal. We have a tremendous sense of urgency and care to see that he makes it through each day. We have monitoring machines to let us know if there is a problem, equipment to help him clear his secretions, a tube that directly feeds him through his stomach, and a whole team of health care professionals that are constantly evaluating and reevaluating his health, progress, goals, and expectations for the coming days.
When it comes to a matter of life-or-death issues, we must have a sharpened sense of purpose and urgency. Nowhere is this more important than in our spiritual lives. Eternity is a long time, and we must always prioritize eternal issues over the colossal mounds of pressing tasks we face each day. Sadly though, we just don’t think about eternity enough. We’re going spend the next several weeks in church doing just that by examining the Book of Revelation. This book is wildly misunderstood and we have the privilege of walking through it, verse-by-verse, to bring our eternal destiny into focus.
We’re going to start at the beginning of the end, Revelation 1:1-8. These critically important verses set the stage for the entire book. I’d go so far as to say most misunderstandings of the Book of Revelation come from skimming over these verses to get to the calamities in the middle of the book. So I invite you to join with us as we get clarity together this weekend.
Our socially distanced service is Saturday afternoon at 3:30, and our Sunday morning service is at 10:15, where you can join us online or in person. We also have Sunday School classes at 9 for all ages.
Have a great weekend and I look forward to pursuing Christ, Community, and the Great Commission Together with you soon!
-Pastor Nathan Rice