Dear Friends,
The question, “Are we there yet?” has become the stuff of legends. No family vacation could ever be considered complete without the chorus rising from the bowels of the passenger compartment: A place where reason and tranquility will never be found. On a recent road trip the following conversation took place in our car:
Child: “Are we there yet?”
Me: “Are we still driving?”
Child: “Yes.”
Me: “Then we are not there yet.”
(One minute thirteen second pause)
Child: “Are we there yet?”
Me: turns on radio . . . loud
I would bang my head on the steering wheel, but that would probably cause the airbag to deploy. If you have never had the pleasure of this yourself this video will be an inspiration to you:
“Are we there yet?” is not just a question asked on during moments of too much family closeness. It is a question we all ask in our spiritual lives.
Having a clear vision and clear call does not eliminate the times in the dessert, the times of preparation. Maxie Dunham, former President of Asbury Theological Seminary is quoted by David McKenna (another former President) as saying, “Whether we experience the desert as a geophysical fact is not important. That we experience it as the reality of being along with ourselves and God — questioning, clarifying, testing, committing, and cleansing — is absolutely necessary” (59). Being in the desert is an “Are we there yet?” moment.
When we read of Saul’s (later called Paul) conversion we tend to focus on the events occurring on the Damascus Road. We miss the other conversion; the conversion which took place in the desert.
Paul’s professional and academic credentials to preach were without question. The call and mission of his life was clear. Jesus said to the prophet Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:15-16, NIV). Even so Paul was sent to the desert for three years.
Read what Paul wrote to the people of Galatia about his call and his conversion:
“But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with [Peter] and stayed with him fifteen days” (Galatians 1:15-18, NIV).
“It took three years for [Paul] to reverse all systems, crucify all past desires, and let his mind become the mind of Christ” (McKenna 59).
Have you been to the desert? Where is God still working on you? Where do you find yourself asking “Are we there yet?” The truth is, as much as we may wish it to be otherwise, the answer may likely be “no.”
Blessings,
Stephen
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McKenna, David L.. Christ-centered leadership: the incarnational difference. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2013. Prin