"ARE WE THERE YET?"

Friday, January 23, 2009

Anyone with small children knows how it goes: you're not in the car thirty minutes, and a little voice from the back seat says, "Daddy, are we there yet?" "No, this is only Goodyear.''

We expect this from small children, but not from adults. Charlotte and I are poor travelers. We want to be there before we hardly get going. When we drive over to Los Angeles we are ready to be there before we get to Quartzsite.

We are all like little children with our longing for more. We graduate from high school and ask, "Are we there yet?" Something inside tells us it's only Blythe.

We graduate from college and ask, "Are we there yet?" It's only Indio.

We fall in love and get married and ask, "Are we there yet?" It's only Banning.

We have children and ask, "Are we there yet?" It's only San Bernardino.

We reach out to God in a new way and ask, "Are we there yet?" It's only Pomona.

Do we ever reach Los Angeles? No--not in this life. One day we shall reach that "city which is to come" (Heb. 13:14), but we are not yet there. Both Scripture and human experience testify to this hard fact, and spiritual maturity requires that we learn to live with it--and live with hope!