I first discovered Eugene Peterson as a writer in the 1980’s. I loved his stuff and read everything he wrote. Many today continue to enjoy his paraphrase of the Bible, entitled “The Message”.
One of his books had a title that grabbed me, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. That is what the Christian life is, a commitment to follow Jesus all the way. Believers are convinced that Jesus is totally worth living for and dying for. To start that “long obedience” we need to embrace two concepts, that we are disciples and pilgrims. To quote Peterson, “’Disciple’ says we are people who spend our lives apprenticed to our master, Jesus Christ. We are in a growing-learning relationship, always. A disciple is a learner, but not in the academic setting of a schoolroom, rather at the work site of a craftsman. We do not just acquire information about God but skills in faith.
Pilgrim tells us we are people who spend our lives going someplace, going to God, and whose path for getting there is the way, Jesus Christ. We realize that “this world is not our home” and set out for the “Father’s House”, our final destination.
Paul, in Hebrews 12:1-2 challenges us to live accordingly. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”
Word pictures are good things. Do we see ourselves as “disciples” and “pilgrims”? Those words help us understand what it means to be a Christian. May our “long obedience in the same direction” be an exciting and fulfilling journey.
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