Journeying Back in Time

Yesterday I spent an enjoyable evening with other folk who are supporting the Try Praying project.

Each week during Lent the leadership team have invited people who have been reading, or distributing, or promoting, the Try Praying booklet to gather together to pray for our nation, our city, our communities, and our churches.

Yesterday's gathering was in Liberton Kirk, on the south side of Edinburgh.

The Kirk is not a particularly old building, yet I felt I was journeying back in time. That building was the place where my wife and I were married. It was the place where I made my first public profession of my Christian faith. It was the place I went to with my parents and grandparents every Sunday. It was the place where I first learned about Jesus, my Lord and my Saviour.

It is more than 30 years since my wife and I moved away from Liberton. Since then we have returned occasionally, but rarely had much opportunity to talk to people we used to know.

On reflection, we didn't know many people outside of my own family, and my parents' circle of friends.

So it was nice last night, to speak to three people who remembered me, and my family, during those days of my childhood.

But such friendships from the past emphasise the long journey I have travelled since those days. Children born and now near to leaving home. Jobs in different places, and now a change of career altogether. Trips to far-off lands, such as Taiwan, India, Russia, and the USA.

Through all that journeying, Jesus has been with me. Not as the man from Nazareth, but the God of the Universe, journeying with me, and within me, by his Holy Spirit. Unseen, but not unknown. Intangible, but not ineffectual. Loved, and loving.

On the journey I have changed. I used to be shy and lacking in confidence, but now I stand before hundreds of people and share with them my experiences and understanding of God. I used to be selfish and private, but now I try to put other folk first and be open about my short-comings.

My interactions with other folk have changed me. My own thinking and experiences have changed me. But most of all God has changed me, by his Spirit within, making me more like Him, more like Jesus.

During these days of Lent, I have been thinking of long-past events in Jesus' life, and past events in my own life. Also, I have been thinking and praying about what lies ahead. Where next will God lead me on my journey with Him?

I don't know yet. There are many possibilities, with some more likely than others. At times I am excited by the prospect of what might lie around the corner. At other times, I am concerned about how it will all work out. What should I be doing that I am not doing? What should I not be doing that I am doing? Can I trust God to keep us all safe as we journey with Him?

Lent is a good time for considering such questions. Jesus showed us the way. He stared defeat in the face, and won through to the victory. You can trust Him.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.