Life is a journey, not a destination – Really?

Sayings such as “Life is a journey, not a destination” are very appealing to those who value quality over quantity, process over accomplishment, and character over ability. These are people who remind us to “stop and smell the roses,” and we are human beings not human doings. You might think that’s exactly the Bible’s perspective. Doesn’t God care more about who you are than what you do? We may go as so far to conclude the Bible doesn’t value external, quantitative results at all.

But is that true? King David didn’t seem to think so. He was determined to take Goliath down. Noah before him didn’t think so either. In both cases, we know that their quality of life was foundational to the tasks at hand. David was called a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). Noah “was a righteous man, blameless in his generation” (Genesis 6:9) Their character proceeded their God-given objectives. But it is an extreme and unhelpful overemphasis to claim that their lives were about the journey as opposed to the destination. The Messiah understood this as well. He said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34). Yeshua was keenly aware of his life goals. He, like David and Noah, as well as almost every other godly example in the Bible, had a mission to accomplish.

There are certainly times for a reminder to not neglect internal, character issues and to learn how to appreciate process. In fact, there may be something in the fragrance of roses that is essential to your achieving your goals. We need to learn God’s life rhythms, which include time to study his Word, pray, rest, sleep, spend quality time with family and friends, and so on. It is right to remember that without godly character we will not likely achieve the kind of success that God prefers. But he does want success.

God’s written revelation addresses both the journey and the destination – the destination being more than our eternal future. While the Bible won’t tell you what your specific vocation is to be or where best to acquire your training, it clearly reveals God’s design for human activity. The better we understand his plans and purposes for people in general, the sooner we will be able to discern what our particular objectives should be.

The Bible is also clear that we are not on our own as we search for our life’s mission. Our heavenly Father longs to personally engage us and is more concerned than we are that we would discover what our objectives should be.

What you do with your life matters. It matters to God; it should matter to you. The journey to your destination may not be straightforward. In fact, I can almost guarantee that if you walk with God, you will experience all sorts of interesting twists and turns along the way. Learn your lessons as you travel on, but don’t forget the destination to which you are called.

Some time ago, I was reflecting on the futility of living life without direction or goals. The result was The Traveler, which I am presenting here in a multimedia format:

In many ways the Bible is God’s map for our lives. Actually, it is more like a real-time GPS, since it equips us to not only reach our life’s destination successfully, but how to negotiate the pitfalls we encounter along the way. God’s written Word is not only concerned about the so-called spiritual aspects of your life, but every aspect of your life.