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There’s something in a man when he receives God’s call that compels him to go, he possesses the spirit of pilgrimage. Its when the pursuit of God compells him to embrace destiny. Like the great patriarch Abraham who left man and country to find a city where God dwelt so too pilgrims today seek to find God and meaning to life by simply letting go of things they control and embracing a future that holds no promises, except God!.
Pilgrimage was at the heart of God’s people from the days of the Israelites where they set out from the bondage of Egypt to find the promised land, to the days of the apostles where they followed the Lord’s command of going into the world and preaching the gospel.
Pilgrimage always makes a man bigger than what he is and draws him into the fulness of his eternal purpose both in this world and the next.
Ray simpson in his book “A pilgrims way” describes the two types of
pilgrimage One where pilgrimage was seen either as a journey into the
unknown such as the Celtic missionaries who travelled Europe and
tansformed it and later those who simple went on a one day pilgrimage
to visit a holy site such as Jerusalem or Rome.
He goes on to say,
“Celtic Christians added a third dimension to pilgrimage, sometimes it
was about meeting God in a untrodden palce in the elements or on the
edge”. I like that, “on the edge.” the edge of newness, the edge of adventure and an encounter with God, destiny too.
Every man needs an encounter with the divine. Without such an event he is powerless to pursue what alone can be his. Without the adventure of pilgrimage man cannot know God let alone know who he himself is.
Go..
Seek..
Find..
God’s
Way
To
An
Open
Door
Pilgrimage, is good for the
soul. It causes us to be dependant on others and see a world where we
can enjoy the hospitality and goodness of others. It teaches us
humility and service in the process also and we become better people because of it.
“Blessed is the man whose strength is in you whose heart is set on pilgrimage (Psalm 84:5).”
Pilgrimage
helps is to discover the vulnerability of others, their
customs and strengths. It places us outside the boundaries of the
familiar where we are in control. Pilgrimage makes us
dependant on God. It helps
us see the bigger world as he sees it. Many a man has returned from a
trip overseas only to return to pursue a higher purpose, one he would
not have discovered had he not embarked on pilgrimage.
Pilgrimage helps is to discover the vulnerability of others, their
customs and strengths too.
In
my missionary trips to America I had the wonderful opportunity to stay
with folks who displayed kindness and Christian hospitality towards me.
Their world enlarged me and their kindness as well as customs forever
influenced my life from that time forward. Something I would never be
able to run from!
Pilgrimage,
is God’s way of growth, growth for his church and growth for a man. It
was in my
venture to preach the gospel that I was introduced to a deeper truth
from God’s word, one I had not had revelation of back home. The
salvation as the apostles gave it and truth that God was One and not a
trinity.
The revelation changed my life, truth normally does! Pilgrimage, is God’s
way upward, “They go from strength to strength” (v7)
I went to America to
preach the gospel only to find that when I get there Amercia preached to me.
Paul.
Build a bridge and connect here on Image breakers, Ill visit your site in return