Why "Odyssey?"

You may wonder why I chose "Odyssey" as the name for my blog. Thought I would share with you the manuscript of a sermon I preached at New Prairie over the summer. This post is a little lengthy, so if you don't have time, come back another time.

Message from Pastor Bill Huffhine given at New Prairie Community of Faith on July 3, 2005.

The Odyssey We're On

Nearly three thousand years ago an epic was written that is still considered some of the great classical literature of all time. The story, written by a man simply known as “Homer” follows the fictional adventures of a warrior named Odysseus. In the story, Odysseus is a hero of the Trojan War who after the war has ended is trying desperately to get back to his Kingdom in Ithaca, Greece where his wife Penelope isn’t sure if he is even still alive. The entire story is about the journey that he is on as Odysseus tries to make his way home. It’s a story of twists and turns with the natural world, of which Odysseus is a part, visibly and inseparably intertwined with the supernatural world of the Greek gods and goddesses. Odysseus finds himself as the center of attention as Zeus, Athena, and Poseidon battle amongst themselves to determine his fate.

On the one side is the god of the sea, Poseidon who is seeking revenge upon Odysseus because in an earlier battle, Odysseus had blinded Poseidon’s son, the Cyclops. On the other side is the Greek goddess Athena, who is Odysseus’ greatest supporter. And then there is the god of all Greek gods, Zeus who mediates the disputes among the lesser gods and determines the fate of men. Throughout the journey, Odysseus encounters many different characters and has many different experiences that shape him as a man while Poseidon seeks to destroy him and Athena persuades Zeus to help him. The two main themes of the story deal with the power of wisdom over strength, and the pitfalls of temptation.

For the last several months I’ve found myself drawn to this ancient story as God is taking both Lynn and me to a new place in our relationship with Him. To some degree, throughout my life I’ve had a tendency to look at life as simply a series of days strung together in chronological order. I’ve always understood that, to a degree, the actions of today have an impact on the outcome of tomorrow. And it’s common sense that our future is shaped in big ways by the big decisions that we make today. But even so, for the most part I’ve tended to look at life one day at a time.

There are advantages to this, and there are disadvantages. On the one hand, the good thing about staying focused on the moment, living for today, seeing life one day at a time is that it’s much easier to keep from worrying about the future. Think about it. The world of worry concerns tomorrow...right? As of this moment, we’re all safe, we all have clothing on...thank God. We’ll all probably eat today. None of us is in danger right now. But if I ask you to stop and think about what worries you, your mind will probably go to something a few hours from now, or tomorrow, or next week, or next month. Jesus himself told us not to worry about the things of tomorrow because each day has enough trouble of it’s own. So in this sense, seeing life one day at a time has an advantage.

But I believe that there is a disadvantage as well. When we simply view life one day at a time, we miss the bigger picture of what God is really doing in us and through us. God has been shifting my way of thinking about life. I’m beginning to view life not as a series of days linked in chronological order, but as a journey; as an Odyssey. It’s a journey in which the natural world and the supernatural world are inseparably intertwined. There is the very real visible world that we continually experience. But there is also the very real invisible world, and whether we realize it or not, we are continually experiencing that world as well. And it’s a journey through which the one and only God is deeply, passionately interested in the man that I am becoming as he orchestrates events and relationships for me to experience. Unlike the story of Odysseus, there is only one God, and He is forever, eternally, on the side of those who love Him and He knows the plans He has for me; plans to prosper me and not harm me - plans to give me hope and a future.

When we view life one day at a time, it’s easier to become discouraged with the difficulty of the moment because we aren’t able to see how this present difficulty is a necessary ingredient for tomorrow’s victory and glory. When we view life as simply a series of days chronologically linked we tend to feel like the events of life are random events and on some days we’re lucky and on some days we’re not. What we experience is simply the outcome of a cosmic roll of the dice. It’s in this smallness of living only in today that we wrestle with thoughts like: “I’m too insignificant to matter.” “My sin is too big to forgive.” “My hurt is too big to forget.”

No, your life, my life is one journey in which all of the yesterdays (both good and bad) and all of the tomorrows (both good and bad) are carefully watched over and shepherded by a God who is concerned with only two things: Your eternal good, and His eternal glory. His desire is that this journey of your life will be an epic that brings Him glory. And His desire is that you will spend all of eternity enjoying the pleasures of His kingdom.

John Eldredge, in his book, EPIC speaks of life this way: “Life, you’ll notice, is a story. Life doesn’t come to us like a math problem. It comes to us the way that a story does, scene by scene. You wake up. What will happen next? You don’t get to know - you have to enter in, take the journey as it comes. The sun might be shining. There might be a tornado outside. Your friends might call and invite you to go sailing. You might lose your job. Life unfolds like a drama. Doesn’t it? Each day has a beginning and an end. There are all sorts of characters, all sorts of settings. A year goes by like a chapter from a novel. Sometimes it seems like a tragedy. Sometimes like a comedy. Most of it feels like a soap opera.”

Though God doesn’t want us to be weighed down by the mistakes of yesterday, or worry about the cares of tomorrow, He does want us to see our years on this planet as a smaller journey that is intertwined with the larger journey of humanity, that is inseparable from the never-ending journey of eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that “God has planted eternity in the hearts of men.”

If you look in the Old Testament at the numerous times that God shows up on the scene with Israel and speaks to them through a prophet, you’ll notice three things. You’ll notice that He does speak about their current condition of the moment which was usually a condition of sin and rebellion. But usually, He also does two other things: He invites them to look backward in history at their forefathers and how He interacted with them. And then He takes them forward by giving them a glimpse of the future; a future that will be shaped by how they respond today, as they remember what happened yesterday. You see...it’s one journey...one story.

Graham Cook says that we are the most powerful against the enemy when we are the most at rest. When we are at rest, we are at peace. When we are at peace, we have disarmed the enemy of his ability to steal, kill, and destroy. The days of victory far outnumber the days of defeat when we live life spiritually at rest and in peace. And there is incredible rest and incredible peace when we are able to view life as a journey in which all of the events (both good and bad) and all of the relationships (both good and bad) are carefully shepherded by a God who is fully invested in our ultimate good.

So how can we make this mental shift from living life as just a series of days to seeing and experiencing life as a journey?

· First, begin thinking in terms of eternity. (string illustration)
~ We tend to think that our journey began when we were conceived. That may be when

the journey began for you. But from God’s perspective, your personal journey began

before creation. Before “In the Beginning” he knew of your life and already had a plan in

place to bring you into relationship with Himself, if you would accept the offer.

~ When you’re tempted to think that your sin is too big to be forgiven, look at this line of

eternity and think about all of the sin God sees both past and present and remind

yourself that Jesus died for all of it. Though we don’t want to minimize the reality of sin’s

ugliness, think about how the sin that seems so overwhelming in your life is such a tiny,

tiny fraction of what Christ died to forgive.

~ When you’re tempted to think that the pain in your life is too big to overcome, remind

yourself of the pain and rejection that the human Christ endured as He paid the price for

all of the sin found along this line. Yet he is the personification of forgiveness, healing, and

wholeness.

· Next, recognize how intimately God is interested in your life. Let me read to you a Psalm

that God has been speaking to me through. (Psalm 8).

~ When you’re tempted to think that you are too insignificant to matter, remind yourself

that as great and transcendent and powerful as God is, as vast as this universe is, and as

long as eternity is, you and I are His obsession; the focal point of his interest and passion.

The amazing thing to me is that though our lives take up such a small space on this line

of eternity, we are God’s focal point.

~ God knows your life from beginning to end. Psalm 139 speaks of how God knit us

together in our mother’s womb and all of our days were recorded before they even

began.

· Finally, remember that every day with all of it’s good and all of it’s bad is designed for you

as a necessary leg of the journey toward the final destination. And this is that destination:

Read Philippians 3:10 - 21.

Don’t grow weary in your journey by the events and the relationships you’ll experience. Remain at rest. Remain at peace. When the good happens, your question should be, “How can I make sure that God receives glory for the good that has happened to me?” When the bad happens, your questions should be, “How can I make sure that God receives glory through the bad that has happened to me?” “How can I allow this bad to prepare me for the final destination of my journey?”

Our journey is a journey of love. As I look back over the years of my life, I'm becoming more able to see how my capacity for loving God has been shaped and intensified by the different experiences of the journey. I have passed through seasons delight and I've passed through seasons of difficulty and sorrow. The one constant through every experience, every relationship, and every season has been the love of God toward me, freeing me to love Him more intimately.