Going Home

Trekkie Alert!

In the series premier of Star Trek Voyager, the Voyager ship and crew find themselves in foreign space, needing 70 years in space travel to get home.  They're so far away that they don't even have voice or data communication with earth. 

For most of the Voyager episodes, life goes on.  The crew meets alien beings and encounters unique situations, just like in other Star Trek shows.  

But the Voyager crew is always aware they're in foreign space, and "finding a way home" is continually on their minds.

Voyager Arrives Home

Then, in the surprising series finale, the crew manages to get home, after only 7 years!  

Every time I watch this episode, I have a sense of joy when Voyager emerges into home space, amidst a fleet of waiting starships.   



As I watched the finale recently, I thought, "Why is this so good?"

I was reminded of my time in the military and how I felt about coming home for Christmas. 

But I think it's bigger than that.  The whole premise of Voyager is that they're working and living in foreign space, learning and growing...but their aim is to get home.

And...I thought about the Christian life. 

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Philippians 3:20

A wise man once told me to "Embrace the journey."  That's not always easy, especially when bad things happen - money issues, relationship problems, health concerns, spiritual struggles, and death.

But what makes it a "journey" is that the "journey" isn't the final destination.  The journey brings experience, maturity, faith.  And then...sooner or later...it ends.

I confess that I often live like the journey, success in this life, is the main thing.   

At the Naval Academy, we always knew the exact number of days until Christmas break.  And once we turned in our last final exam, the semester was over.  Freedom!

Today, I'm just like God's people in the Old Testament - who lived in a foreign country, waiting for freedom, waiting to go home.

My prayer for this New Year is to "embrace the journey" and always remember the destination, that the journey will take me to someplace better, home.  Heaven is a promise and a hope that's sure.

Amen, come Lord Jesus.