Destination (Un)Known

 Life is so strange
Destination unknown
When you don’t know
Your destination
Something could change
It’s unknown
And then you won’t know
Destination unknown

Dale Bozzio, of Missing Persons, sings these lyrics on their album “Spring Session M” (which by the way is an anagram of the band’s name.) I always loved Dale’s vocals, but what made the band intriguing to me was their lyrics. I have to agree with Dale, life is very strange when you don’t know your destination.

I was listening to a podcast about how to “pitch” yourself or your ideas to someone. The main point was to “lead with your destination,” which is really hard to do if you don’t know where you are going.

“What does this have to do with Christmas?” I can hear you asking. No one said that my musing for Christmas Eve had to be about Christmas….

Well, it is actually. I will get to that in a minute. First though, I want to talk about why so many people fail to reach their potential or achieve their dreams. They don’t lead with their destination—often they don’t know what their destination is.

At Kimray we have a mission to make a difference in the lives of the people we serve. This is the reason we do what we do. We also have a vision, which is where we are going and what we will look like when we get there. The two are related, yet separate. Having a vision is leading with our destination. Knowing where we are going, and being able to tell others, allows us to check our daily actions against the backdrop of the larger journey. It also gives us the determination to continue moving toward our goal even when it is difficult or the destination seems to be obscured by current circumstances.

The person doing the podcast was saying that you need to have a personal vision, or destination, and you need to be able to communicate it to yourself and then to others. Telling people what you have done is not as compelling as telling them what you are going to do. People and organizations who achieve their goals most often have a clear vision for where they are going and what it will take to get there.

What is your destination? Where are you going? As Zig Ziglar said, “If you aim at nothing you will hit it every time.” Maybe this could be the day you write down where you want to be 5 years from now. Where do you want your family to be? As important, who do you want to be? What do you want to be known for?

So, how does this relate to Christmas? God led with the destination.

From the beginning, God told us where He was going. The Old Testament contains over 400 prophecies about the coming Messiah. Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled every one of them. Even in Christ’s birth, the destination was one of the primary components within every communication. God told Elizabeth and Zechariah that their Son would be the one who would “prepare the way for the Messiah.” God told Mary that her son would “be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” That God would “give him the throne of his ancestor David.” And that he would “reign over Israel forever” in a Kingdom that would never end. Then God told Joseph to go through with the marriage because the child Mary was carrying would “save his people from their sins.” On the night Jesus was born the angels told the shepherds, “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”

God led with the destination. From the beginning of time He has intended to bring us into relationship with himself. His destination for us can be realized in the present, but it is also His plan for eternity (which is, as they say, a very long time). Even better, God’s destination for us is not only about “where” we will be, but also about “who” we will be. He has a destination in mind for what we will be known for.

Jesus said that if we are part of the destination God led with, we would be recognized by our devotion to Him and by how well we love those around us. That’s it. It’s not complex. It doesn’t require any fancy project management software to keep track of. It just takes directing the love God has shown me out to other people.

Do you know your destination?

Christmas is the story of amazing grace and overcoming love. God loved me enough to send His son to be born, live, die, and rise again so I could experience the destination of relationship with Him. My response should be to lead with that destination in my heart and mind as I relate to the people around me. I pray that your destination is with Jesus and that you are leading with that.

Merry Christmas.