Where Am I Going?

There are two questions that we have to ask ourselves:
The 1st is " Where am I going?"
The 2nd is "Who will go with me?"
If you ever get these questions in the wrong order, you are in trouble.-Howard Thurman

Pretend you are Jesus. You have just asked question #1. "Where am I going?" The answer is the Cross. You are still Jesus for the moment and now you ask question #2. "Who will go with me?" The answer to question #2  has not yet been fully expressed.

It is 7:00 AM and the alarm goes off. Ever wonder why it is called an "alarm" clock? Warning! Your day has begun! We may smile and nod but sometimes it is exactly like that. There are days I sure have felt like that. (Just ask Kathy who gets up at 5:00 AM without an alarm.)

Mostly these days I open my eyes and thank God for another chance to be light and salt. I thank him for another chance to stand defiant like Gandolf on the bridge and proclaim to the Balrog, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

Except that in the real world, the one being faced down daily is the daddy of all Balrogs.  I must not look like myself when I encounter those Balrogs of alcoholism, addiction, homelessness and despair in the ministry God has given me. I must not act on my own against the Balrogs that try to intrude into my own life. They fear only Christ and his name.

And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also]. Luke 9:23 Amplified

Where am I going today? The Cross. My waking is not  another opportunity to fix something I broke yesterday or to make another grab for some misdirected goal. It is not a chance to run the wrong race or wear a face the world will whistle at. I am following Christ to the place where whatever does not Glorify the Father passes away. Obedience answers question #1.

Who will go with me? That is being asked of me and asked by me. Jesus asked his closest friends for watchfulness in the Garden but moving toward Golgotha he asked for them, and us, to be joined to him.  He gave himself away for us. Love on full display. I'm coming, Lord, and I will take as many with me as I can by your grace. I have that chance fresh each morning to ask people to join us. Love answers question #2.

It is 7:00 AM and the world is alarming but a voice that I recognize and His love rises above the ringing, "John, you coming?"

My answer is not looking for the snooze button.

... It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 New Living Translation

Jesus is asking those questions in the right order.

Are we ready to give ourselves away?

Then from the Cross to the bridge!

Bless you-
John LaMantia

(Morning light through the trees At Valley of the Moon, Anchorage, Alaska)