Just passin' through

Thursday 17 November 2005 10:00 PM

[Submitted to the 'Riverine Herald', Echuca-Moama] 

I couldn't write a song if my life depended on it. But if I did try to pen a ditty about 2005, the chorus line might be: "Not sure if we'll meet again; I'm just passin' through." In true Aussie parlance, I'm a "blow in, blow out" kind of character. I began serving the Church of Christ congregation in Echuca in March, and I'll be gone by about mid next year. My task is to assist the church to reflect on its life for a short time, before determining the next stage (which won’t include me). Not only is my whole timeframe short, my weekly appearance is brief as well. I roll in on the highway one day, and roll out again two days later. Same the next week ... and on it goes. But it seems I'm in good company. Hardly a week goes by when the church doesn't receive a visitor or three, who tell me they're "just passin' through" on the way from somewhere to somewhere else. I've learned that that's a feature of life in border towns. 

Yet in another way it’s a description of just what life is for all of us for all of our lives. We all know that life is short, and occasionally a tragic event will remind us of that all too clearly. We’re left wondering why. But Christians understand that if life doesn’t always add up, that’s only because it’s temporary anyway. We’re “just passin’ through”. The very best of this life is just a hint of what’s in store beyond it. The Bible says that following Jesus means being content with unanswered questions now, in the confidence that the best is yet to come.