You know the old saying, "Life is about the journey, not the destination." It's a lie of course. But like all lies, it's based on truth. Life is both a destination and a journey. Tonight I'm here to stick up for the destination. Let's get real. I'm not training 6 days a week for nothing.
Summiting an elusive peak in the Alps counts. Finishing that marathon matters. It matters that you train for months on end to accomplish your goals. I think you know what I mean. You Greek students out there, it's so important that you never lose sight of the goal, and that is the ability -- the awesome ability -- to read your New Testament in Greek. It matters that all your hard work ultimately pays off. It matters that you study for months and months to be able to recognize an aorist infinitive when you need to. Yes, we can enjoy the process of getting there, and I hope you do enjoy your Greek studies, but nothing can even begin to compare with being able to sit down with God's word and read and learn and study and memorize it. I DO think the journey has to be important, but it has to have meaning for the participant, be the goal the finish line of a marathon or an A on the final exam. Besides, it's obvious that if it weren't for the destination, we wouldn't have started the journey to begin with. Is it work? You bet it is. But the payoff is fantastic!