Am I a Tourist or a Pilgrim?

A repost from February 28, 2007
What is a pilgrim?
Pilgrimage?
One who travels or journeys to a foreign place.

If I have
...set my mind on things above, not on earthly things... can I be considered a pilgrim traveling in a foreign place? To 'set my mind' is a
stripping away of emotional temptations, unhealthy desires, and a love of pleasure? You've heard it explained as if you're peeling back the layers of an onion...exposing what God wants to address.

I think pilgrimage includes both
  • space and time.
  • travel: interior and exterior
  • it is an intentional journey, yet the destination may not be known

A tourist returns each day to their starting point. A pilgrim is always 'on the way', always en route.

Who am I?
Who am I becoming?

A tourist?


Or a pilgrim?


"The Christian is not an unconcerned stroller along the byways of life...He is not a tourist, who returns each night to the place from which he starts; he is a pilgrim who is forever on the way. The goal is nothing less than the likeness of Christ."

Wm. Barclay, Letter to the Hebrews, Daily Bible Study Series, pg 171 Hebrews 12


No comments:

Post a Comment