Avoid the Autopilot
I love to travel. Road trips, planes, near, far, work (kinda), play. All of it. In God’s kindness, I’ve had the opportunity to do a fair amount of traveling. Usually, a trip is split in two — there’s the way out and the way back. The destination and the return. These two parts of a trip can feel very different from one another.
On the way out, there is an anticipation for all that may happen or a focus on the mission ahead if you are traveling for business. The playlists are as fresh as the snacks. The air is charged and so are the phones, headphones and tablets. At the airport, you marvel at how incredible people are — so different from one another and so much in common — and flying through the sky to far away places. Praise God! You get off the plane and say good-bye to your new friend from the seat next to yours. “I hope you have the best time at your daughter’s wedding, Mabel! And I am definitely going to check out that taco stand!”
On the way back, maybe not so much. The incredible people at the airport have been replaced by incredibly poor choices in fashion and etiquette. Is he really taking his shoes off? And socks? That four hour layover in Phoenix where you were going to get so much reading done in your new book is now filled with endless, disinterested scrolling, sitting on the floor next to your charger because when they built airports no one anticipated every passenger needing an electrical outlet. All of the passengers in the car whose conversation made the drive fly by are now fast asleep and you’ve reached the end of all the podcasts. There’s no more snacks or roadside stops because you’re just gonna power through. Your eyes are glazed over and you are on autopilot. You just want to be home.
Sometimes, we find ourselves on that return trip spiritually. We’ve not abandoned the faith. We still believe. We still go to church and mechanically march through the motions from week to week, but we are tired — tired of our own sin, tired of the sin around us and tired of the sin against us. A critical eye instead of wonder. A type of stupor in place of peace. Just standing on the moving walkway. Cruise control is set. We just want to be home — to be with Jesus at the end of all things. No more tears and all the other promises together in one place.
The exhortation this morning is this: Don’t check out. Don’t turn on the autopilot. For the Christian, the destination and home are the same. The way out and the way back are one. All the anticipation and the excitement for what the Lord has in store are still ahead of you because for the Christian, all the best days are still to come. Jesus said that he came that you might have life and have it abundantly! (John 10:10). God loves you and he knows your frame and he’s prepared good works for you to walk in for his glory and your great joy. (Romans 5:8, Psalm 103:14, Ephesians 3:20-21, John 16:24) So turn up the radio and sing, because soon and very soon we are going to see the King.
This reminds us of our need to confess our sins.
Father God, forgive us for our murmured grumbling. Forgive us for shuffling along with our gaze downward. We’ve made excuses out of our difficulties. We have not trusted you or your word. Our actions and attitude do not align with the salvation we’ve received through Jesus. We sinfully ignore your Spirit within us, preferring programs and programming to carry us along. Please forgive us for these sins and the sins we silently confess to you now …
… We praise you, God, that you are not like us. You do not grow weary or faint. You know better than anyone the sin in the world and yet, on the balance, you are blessed — the happy God, who continues to dress the lilies of the field. You lead us beside still waters and you restore our souls. You anoint our heads with oil and our cups overflow. You never tire of attending to your children — and through Jesus we are just that — adopted daughters and sons of the most high God. Help us, God, by your Spirit, to live as the people you have called us to be. More and more until we see you face to face. We love you.
