Shoes for the journey

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I’m out at the lake, finishing a book. It is quiet, beautiful, and, well, “lake-ish.” 

At home, I walk in my tennis shoes, but out here I wear my favorite hiking shoes. I love my Merrell’s. They are broken in. They have a steel shank with a good, sturdy sole, and the fit keeps little rocks from finding their way to my feet.

I was walking early one morning, enjoying the cool breezes of what would become a hot day. I had seen deer, birds, flowers, running streams, and one very large frog that I scared to death. I actually jumped too! 

I wrote this blog post in my head that morning, as I was hiking, grateful for the shoes on my feet. The point: I have all kinds of shoes, but if I had to choose a pair for a long journey, I would choose my Merrell hiking shoes. 

Our journey of faith deserves the best shoes for the trip.

A LIFE OF FAITH REQUIRES APPROPRIATE SHOES

The book I am writing is about finding and maintaining God’s calm regardless of the different moments we encounter in life. I’ve often described our earthly lives as a road trip. Today, let’s think of the journey as a long hike.

The “high-heel” days

Out here at the lake, part of my hike is done on a level, paved road. I could wear a heel, but it would seem kind of silly. I’m not much of a high-heel person, to be honest. If you ever see me in anything but a flat shoe, you can know that I am looking forward to the moment I can go home and find my slippers! 

The only time I choose a heel is because I want to “look” a certain way. I’m usually at a fancy dinner that has been scheduled in order to raise money for a good cause. It’s fun to be in the crowd, talk to the people, and support important work. But, there are some people in the room who choose to be there, just to “look” a certain way. There are times in our lives and ministries that are more about making a faithful appearance in a room. 

On those high-heeled evenings, I’m reminded that Scripture says, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). In other words, I don’t think we will wear heels in heaven, and, if we do, they will feel comfortable! High-heeled faith has a place in our lives, but not for very long. 

Lesson 1: I will have to spend some time in less comfortable shoes, trying to “look” a certain way. But, making appearances isn’t a way to walk through this life with consistent faith. God wants us to be genuine and comfortable in our journey. High heels were made to work well only for those times when the road is flat, paved, and easy. A high-heeled faith wobbles when the ground isn’t smooth. 

Our souls are like the soles of our feet. We need to be ready when the road gets rough. High-heeled faith isn’t sustainable. 

Stylish shoes may or may not work

I remember my mom talking about “penny loafers.” She had saved up to buy a pair when she was young because they were all the rage. 

When I was young, I found a pair of platform shoes that I LOVED. I was working at the mall, and the store let me put those shoes on layaway. A couple of paychecks later, they were mine. I loved those shoes with the espadrille soles, the colorful beads that had been woven in, and the fact that they made me about three inches taller. I remember when my dad saw those shoes. Let’s just say he thought my money would have been better spent elsewhere. 

It’s funny how styles change. I used to sit in a pew and listen to the preacher tell me to shape up my faith or it wouldn’t carry me through life. I heard about sins and why I didn’t want to choose them. I heard about heaven, and I also heard about hell. Those sermons made a big difference in my young life. I wanted to be stylish like those outside the church, but even more I wanted to develop a faith that would carry me to heaven. 

Styles change, but God does not. Scripture says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). 

To be honest, I see a lot of the trend-chasing churches beginning to falter. I see a lot of the historical churches, changing with the trends, doing the same. It is important to be relevant—if relevance is a better way of speaking what has always been truth. The message of the Bible has not changed. It still means what it has always meant.  

Lesson two: It is only good to be stylish if the shoes “fit.” I loved those platform shoes, and, truthfully, I’m really grateful my dad’s words didn’t come true. He told me, “You are going to break your ankle in those things!” 

It doesn’t matter if your church is “stylish” if it doesn’t teach a faith that has always been truth. The wrong preaching could cause your faith to “break” someday when the road beneath gets rocky. 

The journey was made for hiking shoes

It’s good to be older. People no longer expect me to enter a room wearing high heels very often. No one typically describes my shoes as the most stylish in the room. I choose shoes these days because they are comfortable and able to handle whatever the day brings. 

Our faith journey is long and covers moments that are paved and easy. But, everyone’s life journey will have rough patches, hills, and rocks. That is life on earth, and our faith should be able to handle every moment, not just the easy ones. 

Some people don’t own a good pair of hiking boots. They are costly, less attractive, and aren’t necessary—most of the time. But for those of us who want to do ministry in a culture that is increasingly “rocky,” we might consider wearing our hiking boots more often.  

We don’t get to have a high-heeled faith very often. Those moments are uncomfortable, shallow, and, truthfully, just make us want to go home. We don’t get to have a super-stylish faith most of the time. Styles constantly change, but truth doesn’t. We have been called to speak the ancient truth that is still true today.  

People of great faith need to wear hiking boots. Our faith shouldn’t slip very often, no matter what life brings. Our faith should be tied securely on our feet and our soles—our souls—can handle the rocky road ahead. 

If our hiking shoes step on toes, it will probably hurt, so we need to be careful how we walk through the world. People will wonder why we wore hiking boots to the ballroom or didn’t attempt to be more “stylish” most of the time. But, if sharing our faith is what matters most, we will want people to know why we choose to wear hiking boots for our faith journey. 

I want my faith to be like my Merrell hiking shoes. I want a steel shank so I can handle the rocks more capably. I want a good sole, and a good soul, to keep me steady and strong as I complete the journey. I want my shoes to last because they are well made. My Merrell boots were costly but worth everything I paid. 

Is your closet full of shoes that you can only wear for a short time or is it time to purchase and enjoy a good pair of hiking boots? 

I’m pretty sure if Jesus could have purchased Merrell hiking boots for his life’s journey, he would have! Let’s do the same. First John 2:6 says, “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 

It’s time to refocus on what truly matters in this world. Our culture needs to be equipped to handle the future. Our Christian culture needs to take some firm stands against things that just aren’t true. 

When the times get rocky, we need a good pair of shoes for the journey.

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Time: Spent or invested?

I was a sophomore in high school when Jim Croce’s song “Time in a Bottle” reached #1 on the charts. 

He had written the song a year earlier, after his wife had told him she was pregnant. ABC Records hadn’t planned to release the song as a single, but, in 1973, Jim Croce was tragically killed in a plane crash. 

Radio stations played “Time in a Bottle” as a tribute to his life, and it quickly achieved its #1 ranking.

If you could put time in a bottle . . . 

If you don’t know the song, take two-and-a-half minutes and watch the lyric video.

The words are especially profound, knowing that he wrote them a year before he died. 

The chorus Croce wrote said that there never seemed to be enough time to do what we want to do once we figure out what we most want to do

“Time in a Bottle” was written as a love song from Croce to his wife. But, with a few biblical changes, it could be a great love song to our Lord.  

Keeping time 

I had an appointment last week, and it was time to find my mask and go. I did my best with a haircut that is about three months old and got ready to leave my house. I grabbed my watch and, out of habit,  glanced at the time. 

My first thought was that I needed a new battery. My next thought was the truth: I hadn’t worn that watch since Daylight Savings Time kicked in. 

I had been living at least two months with no need to keep a tight schedule.

That moment is what prompted this blog post. In two months’ time, I have become a person who doesn’t live her life according to a watch or a calendar. In fact, half the time I have to think about what day of the week it is.  

Like the song says, we can’t keep time in a bottle. But then, God didn’t create time for that purpose. 

Spending time 

The Fall in the Garden of Eden created the reason we value, even cherish, time

Before the Fall, time didn’t matter. Adam and Eve spent their time in the garden living because it wasn’t until after the Fall that they had to think about dying. 

One of the great gifts God gave us after the Fall was the passage of time. 

We know we only have a measure of time to spend on earth. The passage of each day provides us with a sense that we are constantly moving forward. Kids are excited to get older. At some point, we reach the age we would like time to move a little more slowly. Why was aging God’s plan? Why do the days grow longer, then shorter? Warmer, then colder? Why does the moon shine brightly, then fade, then grow brighter again? Why is there a growing season and a time for the fields to stand empty?  

Almost every aspect of this world measures time, and we have the same number of hours to spend per day. 

Time isn’t saved in a bottle; it is spent as the cost for living each day. 

Time invested 

My parents wanted their children to learn how to save money so, one Christmas, my sisters and I each got piggy banks. It was a good idea, but I’m not sure it ever became a good lesson. Saving money only became important to us when we wanted something we weren’t able to buy right away.  

A lot of people are worried about their investments. The pandemic has infected just about everything, including our retirement funds. The money managers tell us we shouldn’t worry because, if we don’t need to use that money, it isn’t a long-term problem. We just need to invest it wisely and everything will work out eventually.  

We invest money because, one day, our investments should be worth more than what we have saved in a bank account. The same is true with our time. 

Time saved is often worth more than time spent. Time invested tends to produce the highest value. 

God’s purpose for our time

King Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes at the end of his life. There is no man in Scripture who accomplished more with his time than David’s son. Israel achieved its height of power, wealth, and influence under his leadership. And King Solomon referred to most of his accomplishments as a “chasing of the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).  

At the end of his life, he realized it wasn’t all the achievements that mattered most, it was wisdom. That’s why he wanted to write Ecclesiastes. 

Chapter 3 begins with the familiar verses, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” After Solomon writes his list of all the things there is “a time to” do or a time “for,” he writes one of his most important lessons about time. 

Solomon taught, “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him” (Ecclesiastes 3:12–14). 

Why did God create a world that measures time? 

So we would realize that what we do in life is for the moment, but everything God does through our lives “will endure forever.”  

God created time, and the passage of time, so that people would understand how much they need him, eternally. 

To “fear God” is to live with reverent awe of his greatness and a godly understanding of our own limitations. 

The purpose of our time on earth is to “fear God” and help others do the same. 

Time to reflect 

Has it been a while since you spent time in reverent awe of God? 

Do you need to remember that God created your life for an eternal purpose and then gave you time to accomplish that purpose? 

One of the great blessings of this shut-in period of time is the knowledge that we are not shut down. There is a purpose for this day, or God wouldn’t have given it to us.  

How many times did we hear ourselves say, “I just wish I had more time to . . . ?” 

You have time now. You are shut in but not shut down. The key: Just don’t shut out the One who gives you his purpose for each day.   

I read the lyrics of Jim Croce’s song “Time in a Bottle” and added a biblical perspective. The song became a devotion to the Lord and a good reminder that, while we can’t save time, we can invest it eternally.  

Jesus described heaven by saying, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:3–5). 

“There will be no more night.” We won’t measure our time in days, weeks, months and years. No one wears a watch in heaven or manages a calendar because time no longer exists.  

Until then, let’s invest the time God has given us in those things that will matter eternally. 

We can’t save time in a bottle, but we can invest it in heaven.