Come see for yourself…
I’m fascinated by a certain Australian ritual known as the “Walkabout“. A walkabout is an aboriginal rite of passage in which males undergo an extended journey during adolescence, usually coming between their 10th and 16th birthday. It follows an intense period of preparation and an approval from the elders; and only after an intense selection process do the candidates begin the arduous journey that may take them up to 1000 miles from their homes, completely alone and surviving solely by their abilities to hunt, fish, and live off the land. The primary purpose is to teach the youngster to navigate the spiritual and traditional hurdles necessary to arrive at manhood in their culture.
I thought about this recently as I encountered Psalm 48 in my Bible reading; a song of worship from the Sons of Korah, which as you might imagine begins with a chorus of praise.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised is the city of our God. (1)
It is the temple, its grandeur, and all that it represents to them that bring these worshippers back, again and again, to sing and to testify of the goodness of God, the depths of His steadfast love and the expansiveness of his creation.
The problem for us! Sometimes we get so used to our surroundings, that we begin to take both the builder and the grounds for granted, and come to think our own four walls sufficient for our needs. And so, the Psalmist issues a challenge:
Walk about Zion, go around here, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through the citadels, that you might tell the next generation that this is God… Our God forever and ever. (Psalm 48:12-14)
There is a singular value in seeing it all for yourself. What happens when we get out there and walk about?
Well, for one, WE SEE LIVES RUINED BY SIN. We see life as it really is. Over the course of 25 years of ministry, I’ve been privy to my share of people’s misery– the unimaginable tragedies that strike our settled world and the equally devastating but avoidable descents into darkness that reduce otherwise stable families to rubble. It’s hard to quantify the sadness and brokenness associated with sin until you’re forced to see it up close and within a few feet from you. Sin is real, it has a life of its own and it kills. And yes, I’ve seen it for myself as I walk about.
But then, THERE IS THE MIRACULOUS. No, I’m not talking about the miraculous visions from the “other side” of life, nor the credible miracles that still happen on occasion in our own time. To be clear, I reject the former as sensational spiritual fodder and rejoice at the occasional visitations from God in the latter. But, I’m amazed by the regular miracles of transformation– the new life born out of a Watergate break-in and the breakdown of a presidential insider. And I marvel at the miraculous gift of grace foisted upon a young woman, who years ago, dove head first into a shallow lake in New England, shattering her neck, severing her spinal cord and then only later, confronting the person of Christ in a fashion never imagined; to become a voice for the power of the gospel and for those who have lost their own voice through disability. The stories behind the conversion of Chuck Colson and Joni Erickson Tada inspire us not because they escaped their own prisons of despair but because they testify to lives that have been transformed by the power of Jesus. I’ve seen this myself as I walk about.
And finally, there are the many lives shaped by truth. Think of them, disciples of old who began their “walkabouts” as William Coleman has noted, a “rather ragged aggregate of souls”, only to become the men and women of whom the writer of Hebrews says, “the world was not worthy.” (Hebrews 11:38a) Throughout the centuries, they have walked about our world, testifying to the greatness of God and telling the next generation of his faithfulness. If you are reading this, it’s likely that you are one of the many who have benefited from seeing life in broader terms; what some might call a 360 degree perspective. Someone has told you that you inhabit a world that has lost its way, you need a savior and of Jesus’ ability to save you from your sin. They have walked you up to sin, its solution, and the sanctification that is available to you through Christ.
Too many Christians, stop there, go home, and never venture out again. And therein lies the real tragedy. For in Christ we are given fresh legs, awakened senses, and new desires, but somehow only seem interested in the same worn out paths and creaturely comfortable haunts. It’s time for a “Walk-About” around Zion– a short hike around all that God has done, is doing in his world, and wants to do in your life. God wants you to see real life as it is, and life as it was meant to be- Abundant!
So why not join me in the NEXT WALKABOUT! It starts today…
MJC
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