Hopefully no one will hear that phrase next week. Next week I will be leading a Bible Study for over forty members of First Baptist Church of Augusta members on a cruise ship. Yes, I know that my job is a difficult one, but someone must sacrifice for the sake of the Kingdom. I have held Bible studies in foreign countries, up trees, on the sides of mountains and during retreats but never on a cruise ship. Here is something else: I have never been on a cruise before. One more thing…
…I get motion sickness easy. Just the description of a rocking boat, or curvy roads along mountain passes, or the vicious circles of a Ferris wheel sends my digestive senses into a tail spin. That’s right, green around the gills, pass the barf bag, knee-walking motion sickness. I have read many remedies for motion sicknesses, but none seem to really help. The other day I was reading about how to prevent motion sicknesses when on a ship. First: do not stay in a room without a window. You will be relived to know our room has a view – a mechanical closet. The article went on to suggest that you need to spend time where you can see out, either through a porthole or on a deck with a view. Finally, keep your eyes on the far horizon and get your sense of balance by watching it rather than the closer, moving walls.
Not bad advice when you think about it. That is what it means to be part of the resurrection. We look ahead to God’s future. In the book The Vital Church, the authors write, “We must keep our eyes not only on the immediate circumstances but also on the purposes of the church, the spreading in the world of the love of God and the love of the neighbor, the formation of a servant people, the needs of the vulnerable neighbor, and the loving grace of God that both empowers and commands us to attend to all things contained in the good news.”
We spend an inordinate amount of time staring at the rolling stock market, the listing news reports, and the turbulent words of that bespeak hopelessness. It is no wonder so many are just plain sick. They have lost sight of the horizon, the hope, the destination of our journey.
As the people of God we are the people of the horizon. We are a people of hope; people of mission; people who live and practice the resurrection. Let us not look down, but look up, look out, and look forward to what God has for us in this great life entrusted to each.
I would write more, but staring down at this screen has caused me to feel a little, well, you know – queasy.
Peace be with you,
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