THE JOURNEY OF LIFE

“The Lord guides me along right paths” Psalm 23:3

One of the main themes throughout the Scriptures is that of a journey. It is difficult to find the story of someone in the Holy Scriptures who is in a serious dialogue with God and is not on a journey. It appears to be the case that God is not found sitting still. Perhaps the explanation is that faith is always revealed along the way on the journey.

The Book of Acts testifies that the original name of the Church was called “The Way”, and the first Christians were called “The Followers of the Way” (Acts 9:2). The Gospel is the story of a journey. Jesus himself was born on the road, on a journey. Jesus’ disciples spent their whole lives on the road, first following Jesus and then spreading the Gospel of salvation.

To be a Christian means to follow Jesus, to be with Him throughout the journey. Jesus Christ says: “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

Indeed, the Christian life is a journey, a pilgrimage to heaven. During that pilgrimage, we can see the God’s paternal providence at every step, His caring intervention and His rays of salvation, which illuminate the whole course of our life. And the holy sites we visit as pilgrims are the milestones along the spiritual journey from Earth to God.

Therefore, let us live as pilgrims following our Lord, the Good Shepherd, wherever He may lead us on this journey. Even if we walk through the shadows of death, we will not fear evil, because the Lord is with us. He will guide us along the right paths for his name’s sake. He will let us rest in green meadows; he will lead us beside peaceful streams. (cf. Psalm 23).

Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan

Posted from www.ilooys.com