"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 3-7
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| Gardens at Imbabazi in Rwanda |
There are gardens at a former orphanage in Rwanda which sit on a foothill at the bottom of a volcano. The only way to get to this beautiful paradise is a long, windy, bumpy dirt road. Although the road is only a few miles long, driving down it is a long process due to its poor condition. But the gardens are an incredible sight, and the journey down the bumpy dirt road is suddenly forgotten when you take in your first breath while standing before the awe-inspiring landscape.
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When I traveled to Rwanda in May of 2012, I nearly missed visiting this orphanage. I was not feeling very well that day, and, due to illness, I feared the long bus ride on the bumpy dirt road. That morning at breakfast, I wavered between whether to go with the team or stay at the hotel. I ultimately decided to brave the adventure and face the bumpy dirt road.
Had I stayed at the hotel, I would have missed the brightly colored flowers, the crisp fog over the volcano's shadow, the joyful playing of music with the children, and the luscious green landscape that was so carefully tended to by the groundskeepers. Had I stayed at the hotel, I would have missed a glimpse of paradise.
So often, I catch Christians (including myself) praying asking God to "pave a path" for us. While praying for God to reveal His Will to those who love Him is good to practice, this particular wording of the prayer is the part which has begun to trip me up: "pave a path."
What if God's intended route for us to His paradise is not a smoothly paved path, but a bumpy dirt road?
Looking at the life of Jesus, His path to the Father's Will was certainly not a smooth one. He faced ridicule, persecution, and even death in order that God's Sovereign Will would come to pass. Jesus' life was none other than a bumpy dirt road- perhaps even the bumpiest dirt road any person has ever had to walk! He was completely innocent of wrongdoing, yet carried every single sin which we have ever committed and have yet to commit with him on the Cross. Now that is a bumpy dirt road.
The Archbishop of Cambrai, France, during the seventeenth century, Francois de Salignac de La Mothe Fenelon, was a spiritual advisor to a handful of members of the Court of Louis the Fourteenth. To these individuals, he wrote a letter containing the following statements regarding bearing our own crosses of hardship, as Jesus did for us:
As followers of Christ, we have to be willing to take the bumpy dirt road. The road may require extra travel time, and we may have to endure several bumps along the way. It will require endurance. It will require relying on God's strength. But the Destination! The Paradise waiting at the end is worth it!"A cross which comes from God ought to be welcomed without any concern for self. And when you accept your cross this way, even though it is painful, you will find that you can bear it in peace. But when you receive your cross unwillingly, you will find it to be doubly severe. The resistance within is harder to bear than the cross itself! But if you recognize the hand of God, and make no opposition to His Will, you will have peace in the midst of affliction."
Imagine you are a child taking a ten-hour road trip with your family to Disney World. Those ten hours... in the car... as a child... while anticipating arrival at "the happiest place on earth..." likely feel like the most grueling ten hours of your life. You are constantly questioning, "Are we there yet?" But when that fateful moment comes, and you arrive, the ten-hour car ride is pushed to the very back of your mind. Your focus shifts to the excitement of where you are and who you are going to see (Mickey Mouse)!
I imagine arrival in Heaven will be a similar, yet far more glorious, experience. Suddenly, the bumpy dirt road will not matter anymore. It will be completely forgotten. Instead, our focus will lie on Our Brilliant Creator with whom we finally have the chance to see face to face and spend eternity with! Where you are and Who you are going to see will take precedence over the journey it took to get there.
Until that day, we may be required to travel down a few bumpy dirt roads. We may be required to bear more than a few crosses. But do not resist those crosses. Carry them with dignity. Have perspective to know that you carry them with a Great Purpose.
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| Gardens at Imbabazi in Rwanda |
There are gardens at a former orphanage in Rwanda which sit on a foothill at the bottom of a volcano. The only way to get to this beautiful paradise is a long, windy, bumpy dirt road. Although the road is only a few miles long, driving down it is a long process due to its poor condition. But the gardens are an incredible sight, and the journey down the bumpy dirt road is suddenly forgotten when you take in your first breath while standing before the awe-inspiring landscape.
