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“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”

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There once was a sea captain who, after many years, was able to purchase a brand new sailing ship. Three huge masts carried enough sail to make it among the fastest of its class. It was well-equipped in every way. After more years of sailing the captain finally arranged for a cargo that would make him financially independent. The ship made excellent time and came to an island where it dropped anchor. The captain was rowed ashore, presented himself to the harbormaster and asked to be directed to the company where his cargo was to be delivered. The harbormaster replied, “I’m sorry sir, but you have arrived on the wrong island. This is not your destination.”

When we say that someone has aquired independent wealth we usually say that person has arrived.  Arrived implying the end of a journey aimed at such a result. What if it could be said that every person, throughout the entire world, has arrived? What if every person had financial security and access to anything and everything they desired? What if every person was educated in such a way that enabled them to use the full potential of their capabilities? What if this state of affairs caused all war and conflict to cease, injustice to end? Would we then have arrived, really arrived? No. For If these things were universally defined as the goal of living, the whole world would have gone wrong.

How well you manage life and accomplishment in this world is not the point of living. This is one dimension of the parable of the Prodigal Son. He squandered his life away in the far country. But if he had used his inheritance to make it, to arrive, he would still have missed the point of living. Why? Because he would have still been estranged from his father.

We do not have God in order to be successful, to be healthy, to have peace, or to avoid squandering our lives in this way or that.  God is not a means to an end. In a real sense God is the end of living, the destination, the point of it all. Having God, we have enough. The fact of the matter is that He hasn’t promised us anything else. He promised Himself and He gave Himself. God could have overwhelmed us with material prosperity and not made a dent in the celestial treasury. It would have cost him nothing. Like a rich man who buys friends and wives with money. 

But God has given what did cost. He gave Himself in Jesus. It cost Him a death on the cross. What this means for you and me is that to arrrive means to be with Him. When we have Him, we can truly say we have arrived. 

 “May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

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