It’s All about Going Deeper

It’s All about Going Deeper

Day 3 – August 24, 2018

By Tony Tench

A few weeks ago our family had a great time traveling together to Florida to visit at “Mickey’s house” near Orlando.  We knew it was going to be a joy watching our granddaughter, who just loves all the Disney princesses, meet the characters and enjoy a “magical” day.   So, Erin and Janet worked hard on all the details and the reservations and went so far as to print up special shirts for all of us to wear for our day in the park.  Janet and I were proud to don our shirts bearing the names “MiMommy” and “Grandaddy” as we envisioned walking up to Cinderella’s castle with Mattie girl.

We rented a mini-van so that we could all travel together and we set out on our journey traveling throughout the day that Friday arriving early evening in Orlando.   Over the miles we watched Disney movies on the portable DVD player and sang Disney songs and Janet, seated beside Mattie, played with her and her princess characters as we crossed state lines.  Mattie was pumped and excited to go and we were so ready to enjoy watching her experience all that Disney offers.

Coming out of Orlando, we saw them and pointed them out to Mattie – “Mickey Ears.”  Down there just off Interstate 4 is that one special concrete power pole that is shaped like the little mouse’s head. So, we told Mattie that we were close and the excitement welled up in her as if we had not just spent nearly nine hours getting there.

And, that’s when it happened.  And, oh how we were pointing it out to her.  “Look, Mattie, it’s the gate we’re coming into Disney World.”  Sure enough Mickey’s and Minnie’s images were larger than life decorating the entrance gate as we approached.  We showed our identification for the property where we’d be staying and they welcomed us in.  As we drove away from the gate and into an expansive lot, Mattie started to cry!

“But, I wanted to stay,” she said through the tears.

After all that talk and preparation and movie-watching and song-singing to get her ready for this experience, the poor thing thought that it was all about getting to the gate where Mickey’s picture was.  We had to assure her that there was so much more waiting inside as we journeyed deeper into the Disney encounter. She was going to stay in Tiana’s room and eat lunch with Cinderella and be a character in Belle’s enchanted tale.  But, all of that was waiting deeper into the journey.  We didn’t come all this way just to stay at the gate.

Our Disney drive is a reminder of the Scripture’s call to follow Jesus.  Once we have accepted the good news of his grace and have committed our lives to follow as he leads, we are just through the gate.  Jesus has in store for us a new measure of his grace and purpose as we go deeper into relationship with him.  From that initial salvation experience, we are to journey on in spiritual discipline that keeps us sitting at the feet of Jesus so that we can know his will for our lives.  Abiding in Christ in this way positions us to hear the Lord call us to specific ministries in which we put the gifts of the Spirit to work in his Kingdom designs.  And, then, as we journey on, there are further areas of mission to which he leads us as we give of ourselves to join his work in the world to see his kingdom come on earth as in heaven.

Jesus didn’t come all the way to the cross to watch us sit at salvation’s gate.  He bids us to journey deeper into salvation’s purpose. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life… Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”  John 14:6, 12

Lord, help us not to camp out at salvation’s gate, but travel deeper into salvation’s calling as we live to be your people in the world.   Amen.