he summer will launch a million journeys, from sea to shining sea; but from the immature minds of millions of kids, ultimately one question will fall from juvenile lips…

“Are we there yet?”

It is the province of the young to focus on the destination rather than the journey. The glory of a scarlet sunset, the wonder of shooting stars across a velvet sky, the grand vistas of land, sea and sky — all of these things can become eclipsed by an “are we there yet” focus from immature inquirers. The beauty of the journey itself — and all of its lessons and wonders — can be lost when young minds become so concerned with the end of the journey that they neglect to pay attention to the rest of it.

We get it honestly; it’s in our ecclesiastical DNA. As Jesus was contemplating His imminent death, the disciples had “are we there yet” questions on their minds. “Tell us,” they urged, insensitively, “what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3) Jesus went on to explain that complexities stood between their present day and what would be the Last Day. He warned them about geopolitical matters (“nation will rise against nation”), and environmental concerns (“famines, pestilences and earthquakes”). It was almost as though He was warning them not to lose focus on the here and now by getting lost in their “are we there yet?”

Later, the Apostle Paul warned the young believers not to become “shaken in mind or troubled” due to their fixation on end-time occurrences. Apparently, both Jesus and Paul wanted to make sure that us Christians didn’t lose our perspective by focusing too much on the destination while the journey still lay before them.

And therein lies the problem: we can become so terminally focused on the “end time” that we can lose sight of both the benefits and the obligations required by the journey itself! Our preoccupation with “are we there yet” can actually prevent us from both doing what it takes to get there and from acquiring what we need to glean from the journey, to help prepare us for getting there!

This can be especially troublesome for religious groups who become focused on Prophecy.

Though sincere and well-intended, these believers can become so transfixed on looking for the “signs of the times” that they lose relevance within the times in which they actually exist! The old adage of becoming “so heavenly minded that they become of no earthly good” can apply, as these folks might fail to heed the admonition to “occupy” until the Lord returns (Luke 19:13).

Interestingly, the Greek word used in that passage is “pragmateusasthe,” from which we get the word “pragmatic”; the text thereby suggesting that we ought to find practical things to do as we wait, during the times in which we live. Rather than simply devoting ourselves to peering through the telescope of prophetic perspectives (“are we there yet”), perhaps we might be better served in looking around and seeing what needs might occupy our hearts and hands presently.

There is a sacred duty to become stewards of our present time, and I believe that focusing more on our here and now will actually help set the stage for our “are we there yet” expectations. Rather than musing about who has the Mark of the Beast, or who is the Anti-Christ, or whether the Millennium comes before or after the Lord returns, may I refer you to a few other concerns that our Lord has called our attention to?

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled” (Matthew 24:6).

In addressing the disciples’ spiritual concerns about end-time events, it surprised me that Jesus would direct their attention to geopolitical conflicts. He didn’t simply allude to how the people of God would be impacted by external political forces, but he specifically speaks of “nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” In short, Jesus was saying, “be aware of what’s happening around you in the geopolitical sphere…”

Amazingly, not only are many Christians unaware of what’s going on in the world around them, they actually believe that it is their religious duty to avoid these things! Understandably, many feel admonished to stay away from “the world (and) the things in the world” (1 John 2:15), because as the Church we are “called out” from the world. But the admonition is to not “love the world,” nor to become “affectionately loyal” (philio, James 4:4) to the world, not simply to avoid the world.

There is a level of tension here; the Christian is called to be in, but not of the world. We are called to be involved, aware, and contributing to the affairs of the world; but all the while we are warned to not be “conformed” (Romans 12:2) to the world. This is not always easy — and as a person who has worked at the highest level of government (with White House staff, as a Deputy to the Mayor of Philadelphia), I know from experience. Yet, as a Christian I am compelled to offer my gifts and influence to the world for the sake of the Kingdom, as a witness.

This is what Moses did, and what Daniel did, and what Nehemiah did — and it pays huge dividends, both to the world and to the cause of God. This is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer did in the darkest of time in Nazi Germany; and this is what Martin Luther King, Jr. did during the civil rights movement — both of them paying dearly for involving themselves, redemptively, in the affairs of the world around them.

And this is what we are called to do.

The ministry of Jesus was designed to address the healing of these things; He came to demonstrate the efficacy of the “Kingdom of God” in confronting these environmental challenges, relevantly. He would feed the hungry, heal the sick, and even correct wayward nature (remember, “Peace, be still”?), and then He would tell the people that the Kingdom of God had come to them. And He did all of these things before His second coming — before we were “there yet”!

More crucially, He then told us to do the same thing — in even greater fashion.

As the people of God, we are to be in the world resolving hunger, eradicating pestilence, and embracing the challenge of corralling an environment that has gone off course. That last one is important. Many Christians fail to understand that as stewards of the Earth we are required to take care of it, and that God’s wrath and judgment are reserved for those who “destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:18).

It is our job — our bounden and sacred obligation — to demonstrate in the here and now the power of God’s Kingdom by confronting and correcting these maladies and afflictions. The fancy term for this is Inaugurated Eschatology, which simply means that all of things that we might look for at the end of time are made available to us because of the first arrival of Jesus the Christ. We do not wait for the end to come to fix things; we engage them here and now believing that all power has been given to us so that we can demonstrate that the Kingdom of God is already here!

“THIS GOSPEL WILL BE PREACHED… FOR A WITNESS” (MATTHEW 24:14)

Good news speaks to people today; it says that there is restoration, healing and renewal available now, rather than simply waiting until we “are there yet.” It is a story that lets people know that God has acted definitively to rescue humankind from what appears to be an intractable doom. And better still, this story allows us to present ourselves as witnesses; we are the living evidence of the fact that God is able to restore, renew and redeem!

It is not our assignment to huddle in exclusive circles while parsing out the signs of the time, so as to make final determinations about who is doomed and why. We are not to stand on the sidelines of this world’s activities, lurking in the shadows while wondering “are we there yet?” It’s not about if we are there yet; the fact is that we are here, NOW — and there is work to do!

Finally, I remember as a child one particularly long trip that we took. After approximately five minutes, and before we had barely turned the corner, the question of destination ascended, “Are we there yet?” But on this trip was a wise grandmother who taught us games; she told us to look for certain historic landmarks, and for certain types of cars, and she gave us tasks to do, and gave point totals for each accomplished activity. By the time we looked up we had arrived at our destination, still joyously engaged in the activities that were a part of the Journey. Arriving at our destination had not been our focus; instead it had become a simple by-product of the trip itself.

If the people of God would shift their focus from the end of the trip, and instead would focus on all that the journey allows for, we would cease to be bedeviled by the constant worry of “are we there yet?” Better still, we might find ourselves to be surprised, while busily engaged, by a warm and comforting voice that says, “Welcome home, children…”