Saturday, January 15, 2022

Reflection - Number Our Days - The Highways To Zion

Source (book): "Teach Us to Number Our Days", Chapter 52, "The Highways To Zion", Page 236.
By David Roper, Pastor, and regular and popular writer for Our Daily Bread.


This world is not my home;
PHOTO: This world is not my home;
I'm just a-passin' through.
- Spiritual

"Blessed are those . . . who have set their hearts on pilgrimage," writes the psalmist. (Psalm 84:5) I'm fond of that verse, 'cause I'm a traveling man, drawn by a picnicker's hankering for "a better place," and I suspect you may too.

We wend (slowly make our way) our way through this world, sampling its pleasures, but we can never settle down. We find our place, or so we think, but then our feet get to itching, or maybe it's our hearts, for as the poet tells us, it's in our hearts that we long to go on pilgrimage.

It's not that we find what we're longing for by looking into our hearts, as some would have us believe, but that our hearts may lead us to our final destination if we listen to what they have to say. If we pay attention, we'll hear them murmur their discontent with this world and their desire for a better place.

And, believe me, there is a better place: our Father's house. Though we may not know it, our soul "yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord." We "cry out for the living God." (Psalm 84:2) We're mostly homesick, yearning for our Father and our eternal home. Everything else leaves an empty void.

Many years ago, a young philosophy student told me about a tutorial in which he and his professor were discussing Thomas Aquinas's proofs for the existence of God. At one point the professor, who was not a Christian, looked wistfully out of the window and murmured, "There must be a God because I miss Him so." It occurs to me thus that we may find God's presence by first noting its absence.

All through our lives God has been drawing us toward His love and away from other affections. The journey begins at birth, continues through adolescence into middle age, and intensifies as we get closer to our eternal home. His wooing is the source of our dissatisfaction on earth and our yearning for that elusive "something more."

He is also our satisfaction. When we come to Him, we find a companion who, unlike others, will never forsake us. He is a strong, wise, and gentle guide to our destination. His presence makes the present journey lighter, less wearing, despite its peril and pain. "Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter," said Izaac Walton.

Now that I'm getting closer to the end of my journey, I'm thinking more like a transient. I suppose it's natural. I note that Abraham first described himself as a pilgrim when he was buying a burial plot for Sarah. (Genesis 23:4) Time and death make you think about such thing.

Most of God's elderly children say the same thing: There's no home for us this side of heaven. Like John Bunyan's Pilgrim, once we've caught sight of the Celestial City we can never be content with anything less. We've found our home in God alone. Happiness is trusting in Him. (Psalm 86:12)

"Home is behind, the world ahead," the hobbits sing as they trudge away from the Shire in The Lord of the Rings. For us, it's the other way around: "The world is behind, our home ahead." There are no valleys of weeping there, for He will wipe every tear from our eyes. "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain," for the world as we know it will have passed away. (Revelation 21:4) That makes the present journey lighter, easier on old hearts and knees.

Put another way, it's the hope of going home that keeps me going. I can hardly wait to get there.
 

This world is not my home;
I'm just a-passin' through.
- Spiritual


This world is not my home; I'm just a-passin' through. - Spiritual
PHOTO: This world is not my home; I'm just a-passin' through. - Spiritual
Picture posted by Caleb King, Harvard ’23 on 14 July 2021
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgreXXaTftxAjrzSgudCm0rn2959Zwuu0WF-P3xOS3hD-twhnqPOHfBqMj6P36In8GjZ5nXufRc62QRbLB5lUFHuFy0awTjNziTe2uq-oSBNHrpQUUTX9qqAcqtAeOn4927o3MpZwki0vIXGnr60F1NUmZUPffgZkob-LKjuLBGNswq5wSc2RiT7Ho9=s900
https://www.christianunion.org/images/content/photos/magazine/1online/highways_to_zion.jpg
https://www.christianunion.org/the-magazine/3033-in-whose-hearts-are-the-highways-to-zion


"Blessed are those . . . who have set their hearts on pilgrimage," writes the psalmist. (Psalm 84:5) [263] I'm fond of that verse, 'cause I'm a traveling man, drawn by a picnicker's hankering for "a better place," and I suspect you may too.

We wend (slowly make our way) our way through this world, sampling its pleasures, but we can never settle down. We find our place, or so we think, but then our feet get to itching, or maybe it's our hearts, for as the poet tells us, it's in our hearts that we long to go on pilgrimage.


Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
PHOTO: "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion."
Artwork by Joana Choumali (Ivorian, 1974–)
Picture posted by Victoria Emily Jones on 22 October 2019
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhK0iEeKX8mHvSHLns0z2M5Okxm8kH4PvAOBrGQKmkxJTRNzElQkVNepcqCWRMv464qmA5WGiJCQLUG6t9XYV5IEIGqsLLMY8TB-GohZiOCyFQ7rLV1SmfVTgfeiPQYBZTriFwGA0iFd1jqAj6nMjoPRRsXBnYWf14R4TWJFVeiO1H1sOtEu_EiuuOm=s972
https://victoriaemilyjones.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/choumali-joana_ca-va-aller-54.jpg
https://artandtheology.org/2019/10/22/highways-to-zion-artful-devotion/


It's not that we find what we're longing for by looking into our hearts, as some would have us believe, but that our hearts may lead us to our final destination if we listen to what they have to say. If we pay attention, we'll hear them murmur their discontent with this world and their desire for a better place.

And, believe me, there is a better place: our Father's house. Though we may not know it, our soul "yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord." We "cry out for the living God." (Psalm 84:2) [264] We're mostly homesick, yearning for our Father and our eternal home. Everything else leaves an empty void.


There is a better place: our Father's house.
PHOTO: There is a better place: our Father's house. Though we may not know it, our soul "yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord." We "cry out for the living God." (Psalm 84:2) We're mostly homesick, yearning for our Father and our eternal home. Everything else leaves an empty void.
Original drawing in pencil of Christ by Heinrich Hofmann - The last supper
Picture posted by Phillip Medhurst in Art, Bible, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Life of Christ, Prints
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPKnapcyNxaOLQUFsrz6s22wKEdGDIB8uWUXhHeBdjttPrjFcZ5CSp2SfCV8w_dEvzHc9dJu9WE1EgfN8yJsiAINocsmNgW50yXzuRFiqG-NZRmFzqW1xaMf3jN-HBBPqjKXyWOFYi3CO3IB_0girS4XyAO12m15cZ6bzuIyeegYKohnaqP5W2iDdf=s1094
https://thebowyerbiblegospels.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/11-heinrich-hofmann-das-letzte-abendmahl-kommet-zu-mir-bild-9-original-drawing-in-pencil-1-corinthians-11_23-25.jpg
https://thebowyerbiblegospels.wordpress.com/2017/06/21/phillip-medhurst-presents-drawings-of-christ-by-heinrich-hofmann-colourised-11-the-last-supper/


Many years ago, a young philosophy student told me about a tutorial in which he and his professor were discussing Thomas Aquinas's proofs for the existence of God. At one point the professor, who was not a Christian, looked wistfully out of the window and murmured, "There must be a God because I miss Him so." It occurs to me thus that we may find God's presence by first noting its absence.

All through our lives God has been drawing us toward His love and away from other affections. The journey begins at birth, continues through adolescence into middle age, and intensifies as we get closer to our eternal home. His wooing is the source of our dissatisfaction on earth and our yearning for that elusive "something more."


All through our lives God has been drawing us toward His love and away from other affections.PHOTO: All through our lives God has been drawing us toward His love and away from other affections. The journey begins at birth, continues through adolescence into middle age, and intensifies as we get closer to our eternal home. His wooing is the source of our dissatisfaction on earth and our yearning for that elusive "something more."
Original drawing in pencil of Christ by Heinrich Hofmann - Luke 24:50-53
Picture posted by phillipmedhurst in Art, Bible, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Life of Christ, Prints on Thursday, 29 June 2017
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNJCfGsbeUBUPzxyHwB1aeD4GNqyuJzbc8NQ7KLED5n6CC-xB2ALrH4-ZITCZklVddz71HmfpaRlN1CEEHOEdXf87_jeaTcseKsvqNOYJ-eHkj1WDdM6Kgh-UULwXHeso4g47HazIxMQ/s1099/wp-image-1009292710_1.jpg
https://thebowyerbiblegospels.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/wp-image-1009292710.jpg
https://thebowyerbiblegospels.wordpress.com/2017/06/29/phillip-medhurst-presents-drawings-of-christ-by-heinrich-hofmann-colourised-16-the-ascension-of-jesus/
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2021/10/reflection-number-our-days-things-i-do.html


He is also our satisfaction. When we come to Him, we find a companion who, unlike others, will never forsake us. He is a strong, wise, and gentle guide to our destination. His presence makes the present journey lighter, less wearing, despite its peril and pain. "Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter," said Izaac Walton.

Now that I'm getting closer to the end of my journey, I'm thinking more like a transient. I suppose it's natural. I note that Abraham first described himself as a pilgrim when he was buying a burial plot for Sarah. (Genesis 23:4) [265] Time and death make you think about such thing.


He is also our satisfaction.
PHOTO: He is also our satisfaction. When we come to Him, we find a companion who, unlike others, will never forsake us. He is a strong, wise, and gentle guide to our destination. His presence makes the present journey lighter, less wearing, despite its peril and pain. "Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter," said Izaac Walton.
Original drawing in pencil of Christ by Heinrich Hofmann - Matthew caps 3,5-7
Picture posted by phillipmedhurst in Art, Bible, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Life of Christ, Prints
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8JORY4GX97DE52_dhSkq0z9-kTLSlYm4Zu4g_iauYqm7XCDk7YFxeI5_deRQa2LPVOd6CvPB4NMiAxpOIpEbEBVKHFdS3uGUs03hNpQ-IuKRn3wnhzXp_5hhxigMqpcZUXb5ZB56Wcur6fYLwZEcrozwHCVky3Nyx40oADaJOTsZR7M7UpJJyCFDi=s1100
https://thebowyerbiblegospels.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/20170618_153806.jpg
https://thebowyerbiblegospels.wordpress.com/2017/06/18/phillip-medhurst-presents-drawings-of-christ-by-heinrich-hofmann-colourised-08-the-sermon-on-the-mount/


Most of God's elderly children say the same thing: There's no home for us this side of heaven. Like John Bunyan's Pilgrim, once we've caught sight of the Celestial City we can never be content with anything less. We've found our home in God alone. Happiness is trusting in Him. (Psalm 86:12) [266]


Most of God's elderly children say the same thing: There's no home for us this side of heaven.PHOTO: Most of God's elderly children say the same thing: There's no home for us this side of heaven. Like John Bunyan's Pilgrim, once we've caught sight of the Celestial City we can never be content with anything less. We've found our home in God alone. Happiness is trusting in Him. (Psalm 86:12)
Picture posted by But Natural Photography on Wednesday, 14 April 2021 at 10:35 pm
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9CnEc0lrtZjiFwfYAINU9LCGIlo7A_A9RoZxizVxQvDNUgeCuK4K5zY97N-o-QKUBSl8wptYl-35Ho91iE0FReWk_9OTEv4F2so4jcIa45RSLPfhc19SkhnTgOaZ10q2BARO8WGJAnU/s1680/173797359_302958917861690_2188480385408456603_n.jpg
https://scontent.fsin9-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/173797359_302958917861690_2188480385408456603_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=CvywzS3nidsAX_dC_TS&tn=sM-76T1B-VMUBVbg&_nc_ht=scontent.fsin9-2.fna&oh=04984f54cf2defc3376f01a714d29737&oe=60E4DA38
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=302958911195024&set=a.201928637964719
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2021/07/reflection-number-our-days-deformed.html


"Home is behind, the world ahead," the hobbits sing as they trudge away from the Shire in The Lord of the Rings. For us, it's the other way around: "The world is behind, our home ahead." There are no valleys of weeping there, for He will wipe every tear from our eyes. "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain," for the world as we know it will have passed away. (Revelation 21:4) [267] That makes the present journey lighter, easier on old hearts and knees.

Put another way, it's the hope of going home that keeps me going. I can hardly wait to get there.


The world is behind, our home ahead.PHOTO: "The world is behind, our home ahead." There are no valleys of weeping there, for He will wipe every tear from our eyes. "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain," for the world as we know it will have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)
Picture posted by Fashionism.gr
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZOYEBQMk-nRzFPhO9hHZHQbWBAGUmnbLgGGwWju1FTAX5PRyXXZRwg_iT8L2OFf8xrB4I1ULO8oiyQXZT8EC4u1z-bSvcP4AvbxtParbzR6uXEOmb0VcKyiuCn7_ux9gBImHM_QR7Sqs/s1354/Niovi.jpg
http://www.fashionism.gr/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Niovi.jpg
http://www.fashionism.gr/13/personal-style-niovi/
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2021/07/reflection-number-our-days-deformed.html


Dear LordPHOTO: "Dear Lord, we learn from the psalmist that ‘Blessed are those . . . who have set their hearts on pilgrimage’ because we’re traveling people, drawn by picnicker's hankering for ‘a better place.’

We wend our way through this world, sampling its pleasures, but we can never settle down. We find our place, or so we think, but then our feet get to itching, or maybe it's our hearts, for as the poet tells us, it's in our hearts that we long to go on pilgrimage.

We learn too, that our hearts may lead us to our final destination if we listen to what they have to say. If we pay attention, we'll hear them murmur their discontent with this world and their desire for a better place.

Thank You Lord, there is a better place: our Father's house. Though we may not know it, our soul ‘yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord.’ We ‘cry out for the living God.’ We're mostly homesick, yearning for our Father and our eternal home. Everything else leaves an empty void.

Even non-Christian may murmur that ‘There must be a God because I miss Him so.’ It occurs to us that we may find God's presence by first noting its absence.

Lord, we learn that all through our lives You have been drawing us toward Your love and away from other affections. The journey begins at birth, continues through adolescence int middle age, and intensifies as we get closer to our eternal home. Your wooing is the source of our dissatisfaction on earth and our yearning for that elusive ‘something more.’

Lord, You are also our satisfaction. When we come to You, we find a companion who, unlike others, will never forsake us. You are a strong, wise, and gentle guide to our destination. Your presence makes the present journey lighter, less wearing, despite its peril and pain. For ‘Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.’

Now that we’re getting closer to the end of our journey, we’re thinking more like a transient. We suppose that is natural. We note that Abraham first described himself as a pilgrim when he was buying a burial plot for Sarah. Time and death make us think about such thing.

Most of Your elderly children say the same thing: There's no home for us this side of heaven. Like John Bunyan's Pilgrim, once we've caught sight of the Celestial City we can never be content with anything less. We've found our home in You alone. Happiness is trusting in You.

May we be able to say ‘The world is behind, our home ahead.’ There are no valleys of weeping there, for You will wipe every tear from our eyes. ‘There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,’ for the world as we know it will have passed away. That makes the present journey lighter, easier on old hearts and knees.

May the hope of going home keeps us going. May we can hardly wait to get there.

Through Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen!"
Picture posted by pixy.org
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8ZvRr8AGBXzDkfSl5on9TjmgVwuvWpp1BS5y_DCYOYHx_5V6zEuinx48hbDv9oe2BWN6ab3aMoz_pMx_4JKBw4bBw3oNgdIf0UIN3x19lOzF5wg7ZurO1NQOb4qmDF_Q_NqdqseCS20/s2048/5924590.jpg
https://pixy.org/src2/592/5924590.jpg
https://pixy.org/5924590/
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2021/01/reflection-health-and-frailties_24.html

Reflection - Number Our Days - The Highways To Zion
Source (book): "Teach Us to Number Our Days", Chapter 52, "The Highways To Zion", Page 236.
By David Roper, Pastor, and regular and popular writer for Our Daily Bread.


Other Books

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'Faithful to the end', A Preacher's Exposition of 2 Timothy, @ 2014 by Robert M. Solomon<br>
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https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2017/06/reflection-faithful-to-end-links.html


"Finding rest for the soul" Responding to Jesus' Invitation in Matthew 11:28-29, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon

Reflection - Finding rest for the soul (Links)
Reflection - Finding rest for the soul (Links)
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2018/10/reflection-finding-rest-for-soul-links.html


"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon

'Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART I-III, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART I-III, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-i.html


"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon

'Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART IV, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART IV, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-iv.html 


"Songs of Christmas", The Stories and Significance of 20 Well-Loved Carols, © 2018 by Robert M. Solomon

Reflection - Songs of Christmas (Links), posted on Friday, 24 April 2020
Reflection - Songs of Christmas (Links), posted on Friday, 24 April 2020
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/04/reflection-songs-of-christmas-links.html
 

"Growing Old Gracefully", Following Jesus to the End, © 2019 by Robert M. Solomon

Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part I - III (Links), posted on Wednesday, 09 December 2020
Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part I - III (Links), posted on Wednesday, 09 December 2020
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/12/reflection-growing-old-gracefully-part.html
 

Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part IV - V (Links), posted on Thursday, 22 April 2021
Reflection - Growing Old Gracefully, Part IV - V (Links), posted on Thursday, 22 April 2021
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2020/12/reflection-growing-old-gracefully-part_9.html
 

"Teach Us to Number Our Days", © 2008 by David Roper

Reflection - Number Our Days, Chapter 1 - 40 (Links), posted on Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Reflection - Number Our Days, Chapter 1 - 40 (Links), posted on Tuesday, 16 November 2021
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2021/11/reflection-number-our-days-chapter-1-40.html
 


Reference
[1] From "Teach Us to Number Our Days", Copyright © 2008 by David Roper, ISBN 978-981-11-7184-0, Chapter 52, "The Highways To Zion", Page 235-239.

[263] Psalm 84:5

[264] Psalm 84:2

[265] Genesis 23:4

[266] See Psalm 86:12.

[267] Revelation 21:4


Links


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