Dr. Robert Farrar, part 2

Here is another devotional by Dr. Robert Farrar, our WCS chaplain and legend!

In Colossians 4:15 the apostle Paul admonishes “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” Why do we not have peace? One of the main reasons is we are most always in a hurry. Students hurry to get to school and then hurry to get home. They hurry to get through with their homework so they can hurry and do something else. And adults hurry to get to work, hurry through their projects for the day, and then hurry to get home. Housewives hurry to get breakfast, hurry to get the children to school and all their other activities, hurry to get dinner ready, hurry to get the laundry done, and all the other things that women do. Cervantes said, “The road is always better than the inn.” Or we might say, “better than the motel.” Cervantes pictures a road, a lone traveler, and at the edge of the horizon an inn toward which the traveler is hurrying as fast as he can. He probably is walking and is oblivious of where he is and what there is to see about him. He has a goal to reach, and in order to reach that goal he misses the profits and blessings possible to him on the journey.

We are so busy that we miss life. I recently talked with a medical doctor who has twin little boys. They are blessed with long fingers. I remarked to the doctor, they could become good surgeons. To which he replied, “That’s not a life.” It is good to set goals, but let’s not be in such a hurry or so focused on our goals, that we miss the blessings of God on the road, failing to see who we might help, the beauty as we pass, and the very purpose of our existence. We need the endurance of patience. Enjoy peace.

Suggested prayer: Our Father, we are grateful for the good goals that we can set, and making life more meaningful as we pursue those goals. But will You help us not to be in such a hurry that we miss the peace and enjoyment of the journey. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.