The word vacation usually brings a smile to most peoples faces. The thought of getting away and enjoying days off without checking in on the day to day work schedule is a welcome relief. It is interesting though how many people share greatly varying opinions on what a vacation really is or isn’t. Vacations definitely change as the years pass and as families are started. I can remember a great vacation once when there was nothing at all planned. We drove south. That was the plan. We ended up staying in some not so wonderful motels, and some quaint wonderful bed & breakfasts. We slept in, biked a little, looked at the countryside and had a great trip. I don’t think I could get away with that with a teenager and an almost teenager. I can hear the sounds of “boring” echoing from the back seat. Some people think vacation is an amusement park. Hitting the asphalt each day to ride the rides, eating the amusement park food, standing in lines, seeing the latest in electronic entertainment. I have vacationed on houseboats, cruise ships, in the mountains, at the beach, at DisneyWorld, on mission trips, in Las Vegas, and other places. I am leaving for vacation this weekend and I’m looking forward to it. I share this to try and clear up some of our theology. You might be thinking, “How does vacation relate to our theology?”

Vacation is; break from work: a period of time devoted to rest, travel, or recreation.

Theology is; The study of the nature of God and religious truth; rational inquiry into religious questions.

I promise you there are some minister friends of mine who will role their eyes when they read this blog and shrug with disgust the simplicity with which I relate vacation and theology. It’s okay. Nobody reads this anyway, and those who do already get “it”. Your idea of vacation may not be my idea of vacation. Your idea of theology may not be my idea of theology. My basic theology is that God sent His Son to pay the eternal debt for my sins. I can do nothing to gain salvation. It is given to me freely as a gift. What I do with the gift is the journey which is called life. I am dead in my sin, but alive through Christ who lives in me. My idea of vacation is to be away from work. What I do away from work has very little to do with whether or not it is a vacation. Just being away from work is a vacation.

My point is this. There are some things that are basic. Work on those things. We don’t need to be extravagant to be on vacation and we don’t need to delve into every philosophy, angle, and argument to be the Christians God has asked us to be. Work on the basics. Have we done all we can do to understand God’s love for us? Have we truly spent time contemplating the sacrifice that God gave in His Son Jesus Christ? Do we fully accept the gift that is ours for the asking? Have we revisited those basics lately? I know this sounds simple, but sometimes we need to be reminded of why we are here in the first place!

On the journey together,
Kirk