Not a Tourist
On a chilly January day, I visited DriftwoodBeach on Jekyll Island, one of the Golden Isles off the coast of Georgia. I’dbeen there years before, but I decided to make another visit. I parked my caralong the road and read license plates of vehicles mostly from points north,likely snowbirds looking to get out of the frozen tundra. A beaten sandy path emergedonto the shore where giant trees and roots had turned to driftwood—stark andsomewhat eerie wood pieces made this way by the wearing of countless tides.Even on a grey day, a steady stream of visitors came and went.
The flow of sightseers resonated with meand connected with a point I sensed the Lord had been bringing to mind. Atourist by definition is one who tours for pleasure— they only stay for a momentor a season as it suits them. You won’t see a moving van at the Eiffel Tower orMount Rushmore or the Statue of Liberty.
In the spiritual sense, true followers ofJesus don’t buy a ticket, take a lookaround, and then leave when their feet start hurting.
One of my all time favorite verses is Matthew6:33, here in the Amplified, “But first and most importantly seek (aim at,strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and beingright—the attitude and character of God} and all these things will be given toyou also.” Our seeking His kingdom is at first a onetime surrender of all weare and then a daily surrender. We strive for it above everything else in ourlives and leave the rest to Him.
The antonym of tourist is inhabitant—weinhabit the kingdom of God and God inhabits us—an exchange of our life for His.We don’t change our itinerary because a storm is rolling in. We take upresidence in Him who is our “refuge and strength.”
We’re not looking to only get a passportstamp that reads “Saved” but we’re looking to live out the daily walk withJesus.
In the spiritual sense, let’s aim to notbe tourists.
However, I will admit being a tourist at Driftwood Beach is nice,especially in January.
As Valentines Day approaches, an author colleague is hosting fourteen other authors (including me) in a giveaway. My day is tomorrow, February 7 and I'll be giving away a signed copy of A Plan for Everything and a Valentines Day mug. The details are on her site. Click on the image below to www.SuzieWaltner.com. I hope you win!!
Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023
