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| 8 Kilometers to Phon Phisai |
In the past five years or so, it has become popular to make signs with similar form, as the way of advertising your business or perhaps some landmark, having a distance of "0" to wherever the sign is and then distances to other places.
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| 0 Kilometers to This Intersection |
While kilometer posts may not always be very good at letting you know where you are, they are helpful in determining progress towards your destination or from a starting point.
In my home country, these things are more commonly known as milestones, a term that has grown to have significance beyond just measuring distance.
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| Bicycle in Rubber Plantation |
This past month I reached a milestone on my bicycle—I reached 10,000 kilometers on this particular bike. I realize that this is not much compared to what serious bike riders do (it took me 26 months), still, it was fun to see the odometer put on a fifth digit.
Last month was also another significant milestone for us--it was a year since the official launch of our church.
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| Official Launch of Phon Phisai Fellowship Church |
Because they help measure progress, milestones can help fight discouragement. Sometimes we are tempted to compare where we are to where we would like to be, and the difference is so great that it can be discouraging. On the other hand, we can compare where we are to where we used to be and then things might look a bit better.
So while it may be discouraging to look at the above photo and count those who are no longer attending our church, I can also see in there some who a year ago were just "coming" to church who are now beginning to lead. At the same time there are new faces that are not in the picture. I can also rejoice in that there is still a church in our sub-district, while a year and a half ago there was none.
The main reason I ride my bicycle is for my heart health. It's good exercise. I keep track of my miles in order to make sure I am getting enough exercise.
Our spiritual lives need checkpoints as well.
Our lives have milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, etc. At these times we can take the opportunity turn and look back and say, "I used to..., but now I...". Paul writes about this kind of thing, comparing the church at Colossae as it was to how it used to be, "You also did these things in the past, when you lived like them." (Colossians 3:7 ERV)
On the other hand, if we look back and end up saying something like, "I also used to do these things in the past—and I still do," maybe it's time to use the milestone to instigate some change in our lives. We don't want to be like the Corinthian church, to whom Paul had to write, "I could not talk to you the way I talk to people who are led by the Spirit. I had to talk to you like ordinary people of the world. You were like babies in Christ. And the teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food. I did this because you were not ready for solid food. And even now you are not ready." (1 Corinthians 3:1b, 2 ERV)
Maybe I can use the kilometer posts on the highways as reminders to check for progress in other areas of my life as well.
