Into The Unknown

Jun 4
3 min read

A raw, intimate, eye-level cinematic photograph taken at dusk. A multi-generational and multi-racial group of people—including students with backpacks, diverse families, elders, and individuals with visible differences (perhaps an unlikely beloved or two)—is walking with shared purpose. They are crossing a threshold, not entering a traditional church sanctuary, but moving from a dimly lit, slightly chaotic urban hallway (symbolizing daily business and doubt) and into the wide-open, soft, golden hour light of dawn filtering in from large, arched windows. In the absolute foreground, a person's worn but steady hand holds a weathered walking stick (a 'spark of remembrance' back to Abram), while simultaneously, another pair of hands gently adjusts a young child's backpack. Background elements show the group leaving behind diverse objects—a generic clipboard, a toolbox, or generic 'sinners' items—representing a unified choice to leave 'everything he knew.' At the leading edge, blurred movement indicates the group is walking forward together, stepping physically into the soft golden light that illuminates their faces with a sense of quiet elation and resolve. The camera captures the exact kinetic energy of 'hands, feet, and voices' moving into the unknown. Natural film grain, deep shadows, and high-contrast lighting creating a path of light leading into 'limitless possibility'. — Created using Canva

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (Genesis 12:1-4)

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. 10 And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with Jesus and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12 But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners." (Matthew 9:9-13)

God called Abram to leave everything he knew and go to an undisclosed place. God promised to bless him and make a great nation out of this 75 year old man whose wife was barren. In faith and hope, Abram obeyed and set out. In the years after Abram headed God's call, his faith did sometimes waver and he found it difficult to hold on to hope as the odds of his wife giving birth seemed to decrease with every passing year. But God was faithful, eventually blessing this couple with a son. Though Abram never beheld the great nation that began with him, he trusted that the God who had done the impossible would continue to bless.

Perhaps when Jesus called Matthew, as Matthew was going about his daily business, there was a spark of remembrance back to Abram. Maybe, as Matthew walked away from his tax booth, he felt that he was following in Abram's footsteps - into the blessed unknown. Might he have invited his found family of other tax collectors and "sinners" to join him just as Abram had taken his wife and nephew? What impossible might he have been hoping for? Surly those who sneered at the company Jesus kept forgot that the obedience of the founder of their faith community was punctuated by lying about his wife being his sister (twice!) and an attempt to "help" God by impregnating his wife's handmaid when Sarah didn't become pregnant quickly enough. Certainly, Matthew had no idea that the unknown that he was following Jesus into would lead to, and through, the cross.

Even as Jesus was reaching out to the seemingly unlikely disciple, other unlikely beloved of God were reaching out to him. A synagogue leader wanted Jesus to touch his daughter who was dying. A woman with a bleeding disorder attempted to touch Jesus anonymously. Each of them stepped into the unknown as they sought what should have been impossible. Their faith allowed God's grace to cover their unrighteousness. Their healing and restoration transformed their futures from certain despair to limitless possibility. May we step, each day, into the blessed unknown of God's unlimited possibilities.

18 While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a synagogue leader came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." 19 And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. 20 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, 21 for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well." 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." and the woman was made well from that moment. (Matthew 9:18-22)

Enjoy this original song by yours truly