A Long Obedience

I recently went to the gym with my Dad.  We typically go twice a week together although lately it has been once a week if we are lucky.  I usually walk the treadmill while Dad does the stationary bikes.  It is the perfect time for me to order my thoughts or read a book or talk to God.  Today I picked up a book from my hubbies office called A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson.  After I read the first chapter I wanted to go back and read it again.  Partially so that I could not miss one thing but also because it resonated so loudly in me.  

Peterson talks at length about how society/culture has systematically destroyed our staying power.  Western culture in particular is about fast and what is coming next or the next great thing which makes being a Christian in today's society difficult.  Because being a Christian isn't about the next big thing.  It isn't about 30 second commercials, losing 3 inches in 7 days or 5 easy steps to something.  It is about the One Big Thing that doesn't change; God who is constant and true.  Peterson borrowed his title from Nietzsche, of all people.  Nietzsche said, "The essential thing in heaven and earth is… that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living."

So many Scriptures talk about the "long run" of being a disciple of Christ.  I am glad I have chosen that route even on tough days when I wish there were 5 easy steps toward my goal.  Because God is the only thing that makes life worth living;  He alone makes taking the next step bearable.  He alone is why we have this life in the first place.

"They are not monuments, but footprints.  A monument only says, "At least I got this far," while a footprint says, "This is where I was when I moved again.'"

William Faulkner