Last year my son Rett and I were given a great responsibility. A noble task. A magnificent mission. We had one clear goal…
To select the perfect Christmas tree for our little family.
So there we are. Cruising down the road on an abnormally warm December afternoon. Not a cloud in the sky. Windows down. It was one of those moments you just want to freeze and save for later.
And then it happened…
Out of the corner of my eye I see something. Palm trees. A plethora of them. It was a tennis club posing as an exotic, tropical, luscious paradise in the middle of the burbs. I mean, I might as well have been sitting on a white-sanded beach sipping an iced-cold lemonade. My body may have still been in the car, but my mind was in St. Thomas.
Suddenly, I am jolted back into the present moment by a feeling no one wants to experience while driving. It’s that ‘tire colliding with the median’ kind of a feeling. “Was that a squirrel?” Rett asked. “No buddy, wish it was,” I said. “You do?” Rett asked saddened.
Long story short, two hours later, Rett and I are back on the road determined to complete our mission. But before we travel even 50 feet, my son says to me, “Daddy, keep your eyes on the road.”
Hmmm….
At some time or another, we’ve all set out with a purpose, a goal, a task, a mission, a dream. Maybe it’s getting that promotion or making that team or winning over that person or having that baby or moving to that city or completing that project or getting that degree. And there we are cruising along nicely….
And then something happens. Something catches the corner of our eye. We see palm trees. We get distracted. We take our eyes off the road. We are carried away by something that says, “Look at me. Smell me. Listen to me. Touch me. Your dream can wait.”
We all know what ‘that’ is…
In the Scriptures, there was another Dad and a son on a mission. A mission that makes all other missions pale in comparison. This mission had eternal, lasting, permanent implications affecting zillions of people. You and I included. What was it?
“Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem…” (Luke 13:22)
“Now on his way to Jerusalem…” (Luke 17:11)
“After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.” (Luke 19:28)
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it…” (Luke 19:41)
Nothing was going to distract this Father and Son from getting to Jerusalem. To the cross. Though Jesus was tempted and distracted in every way, He did not waiver. He did not sin. He kept His eyes on the road.
Along the way He knew exactly what to say ‘yes’ to and what to say ‘no’ to. He might have asked, “Will this help my mission or hinder it?” “Will this move me closer to Jerusalem or further away?”
Finally, He arrived at a tree not to purchase it and bring it home. Rather, He arrived at a tree to purchase us and bring us home. “So His goal and mission and task and project and dream was all about us?” Indeed.
“So, He voluntarily was beaten and mocked and spat on and bruised and slaughtered and tortured and nailed to the cross ALL for insignificant, lowly, sinful, screwed up, lost people like us?” Yes.
Hanging on by a thread, covered in blood, on the cross, Jesus’ final words to you and I were, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Today we can be with Jesus in paradise? We don’t have to wait until we die? Right here, right now Jesus wants us to experience a kind of paradise unmatched by palm trees at tennis clubs.
When we honor our parents. When we let go of that grudge and forgive. When we pray for our family and friends and enemies. When we decide not to cut corners. When we click off that website. When we choose time with family over time at work. When we write a thank-you note.
When we read the Word and share it with others. When we love our wayward children unconditionally. When we share our faith at work. When we give valuable possessions away. When we are on the side of the road and don’t forget our mission.
When we do these things, we move a little closer to Jerusalem. A little closer to Jesus.
And we invite a little bit of Heaven into Earth.