It's all about the journey

Today is my second wedding anniversary (I love you Cheryl). In one sense, it seems like the last two years have flown by. It was just a blink of an eye ago that we were in the church surrounded by all of our family and friends. It seems like only yesterday. At the same time, it feels like it has been forever. Being married has become so normal that it is hard for me to picture a time when it wasn't true.

Like any relationship, being married is a journey that two people take together. There isn't a time when you "arrive" and everything stays the same. The relationship develops and builds. You learn more about the other person. You start to think more alike. We had a moment like that last night. Cheryl and I enjoy playing board games together. One of our favorites is called Carcassonne. One of the cool things about Carcassonne is that there are add-ons that you can buy that add new pieces and rules. It means that there are a bunch of different ways that you can play the game. I bought one of those expansions for Cheryl as part of my anniversary gift. The funny thing is that she bought the exact same expansion for me. Two years ago, I don't think we ever would have bought each other the same present. But as we spend more time together, it's clear that we think more alike all the time.

The same process is true in our relationship with Jesus. There never comes a point when we have "arrived" as a Christ follower. Unfortunately, many people seem to think that "becoming a Christian" is the ending point. Once we have reached that point, we've "made it." The truth is, that initiating a relationship with Jesus isn't much different than getting married, or forming any other close relationship. They are all just the beginning point of a journey. In each case, the relationship needs to keep growing and moving forward, or else it's eventually going to die. As we spend time with Jesus, we will find ourselves thinking more like he does, and having more of the values that he does, just as is happening between me and my wife. There is no ending point with Jesus. There is no point where we will have "made it." Instead, it's a journey that starts when we decide we want to know him. On that journey, we should continue to become more like him. We should continue to think more like he does. We should continue to value more of the things that he does. Knowing and having a relationship with Jesus is about that journey.