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10 5 The Divinely Appointed Journey Ethan Weaver, MDiv Alumnus " THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND MADE HIS DWELLING AMONG US. WE HAVE SEEN HIS GLORY, THE GLORY OF THE ONE AND ONLY SON, WHO CAME FROM THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH." - JOHN 1:14 P erhaps the most anxiety-inducing aspect of our modern American lives is waiting. We impatiently tap our foot in the checkout line. We lose our temper at a delayed flight. We mourn the lack of direction for our next vocational move. In a world of instant messaging, microwaves, and digital music, waiting seems like a thorn resulting from the Fall. e Gospel writers describe Jesus' life as full of long journeys, delays, and frustrations. If we had advised God as He sent His Son into the world, wouldn't we have suggested something more efficient? Since Jesus' work culminated in His death and resurrection, couldn't He have come as an adult one day, been crucified and risen the next, and been back in heaven in no time? At every opportunity throughout Jesus' life, the devil and religious leaders sought to throw Him off His divine mission. Perhaps He should have foregone that long path from Bethlehem to Calvary. Yet the miracle of the Incarnation is not simply that Jesus came in flesh, but that He came as an infant. He experienced full humanity in all its weakness and temptation. And through this journey, as the author of Hebrews says, He has become our Great High Priest, the One who intercedes for us and intimately knows our struggles (Heb. 5:15). rough His life, He presented to the world the clearest expression of what God is like (Heb. 1:3). And so Jesus' infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood were not wasted. God's divine journey for His Son brings about magnificent blessings for His creation. While Americans are often future-oriented, we hold the finish line so rigidly in our vision that we neglect the journey on which God brings us. We miss formational truths in our education, anticipating graduation day. We overlook the beauty of each stage of our children's lives as we fret over their future livelihood. We yearn so strongly for marriage that we become blind to the relationships God has for us now. We become so impatient in waiting for direction that we ignore how God shapes us in the meantime. e Incarnation teaches us, as does much of Scripture, that the divinely appointed journey, not just the destination, is filled with God's blessing. He has promised to bring us into conformity with the character of Jesus, and we joyfully journey with Him each day, open to what God has for us on this stretch of the path. December