Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.  -Hebrews 12:2

Fixing our eyes on Jesus.  It is as simple as that.  The problem is that we can't always "see" him; though present, he is beyond our horizon.  Other times, just as a breeze can take a boat off course, so life ever so slightly shifts our attention off Jesus, taking us off our intended destination.  Still other times there are strong winds or other conditions that blow our lives off course. Whether we lose our way through our own actions or external circumstances, a compass can help us recalibrate our lives back towards Jesus.

Those who have journeyed on ahead can attest to the reality that a map or GPS offers limited help when seeking to follow Jesus.   The journey is not about getting from point A to point B in the shortest amount of time.  It is about becoming like Jesus: being transformed, degree by degree, until we reflect the image of Christ (see II Corinthians 3:17-18). 

Ultimately, becoming like Jesus is not something we can do in our own strength or on our own schedule.  It can only be accomplished in and through the power of the Holy Spirit.  To be sure, our full participation is required.  Such participation calls for a willingness to follow the course set before us.  This is why a compass calibrated to "core identity in Christ" is helpful in navigating the journey.  Core identity in Christ, along with character transformation, call, and competence provide the four cardinal points that direct our path home to God as we live the questions of the fourfold journey:

• Core Identity: Who am I?

• Character Transformation: With whom are my core relationships?

• Call: What are my strengths?
• Competence: What is my legacy?

These questions are answered as Christ is formed in us.  Scripture is our compass, the means by which we come to know our story in his story.  Not doctrine, not tradition, not culture, but scripture.  God in Christ is our True North in the midst of a chaotic and unpredictable world.  As the poet queries: "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?" (T.S. Eliot)

Journeying with Jesus involves both heart and mind.  We can want to know God in Christ, want to live Christ-like lives, yet find ourselves significantly off course when we impose set ways of thinking and being. Incarnation is not an abstract activity; it is an act of embodiment in which we not only seek our being in Christ, but allow God to act through us. Committing to the journey necessitates surrender and a willingness to step off known paths.  This is why we begin by calibrating our compasses to Jesus' earthly journey.  Just as in some parts of the word, there can be as much as a 25 degree difference between true north and magnetic north, so also there can be a variance between our understanding of who Jesus is and what scripture has to tell us about the One who is the way (see John 14:6). 

As Richard R. Niebuhr reminds us: "Pilgrims are persons in motion passing through territories not their own -- seeking something we might call completion, or perhaps the word clarity will do as well, a goal to which only the spirit's compass points the way."  When our lives are calibrated to core identity in Christ, we come to uncover what we really long for and thereby discover who we really are.

In addition to calibrating your compass to scripture, take some time now to note your present coordinates.  I encourage you to do this by "drawing" a path of your life to date.  Start with your birth at the bottom of the page and carry it up to the present moment.  Or collect images from some magazines and newspapers around the house and office and create a collage of your life journey.  What have you learned about yourself as you look at your life map?  Do you see any patterns?  Is there anything that has surprised you?  Based upon your life map, what are your present coordinates?

Now reflect on Jesus life journey as illustrated with the itinerary.  What strikes you as the same?  As different? 

Now spend some time in prayer, naming for God and yourself, what you are hoping from this journey.

A Prayer for the Journey

Where I wander-You!

Where I ponder-You again, always You!

You! You! You!

When I am gladdened-You!

When I am saddened-You!

Only You.  You again, always You!

You! You! You!

You above! You below!

In every trend, at every end.

Only You.  You again, always You!

You! You! You!

-Levi Yitzchak of Beritchev