Milestones and Millstones
By the time you read this the members of the Central church of Christ in Paducah, Kentucky will have passed a milestone in our history. Yesterday (10/20/24), we had some activities that were designed to recognize the fact that this congregation has been worshiping and working together for sixty years.
It is my prayer that what happened yesterday is just that – a milestone. I would hate for it (or anything else) to become a millstone.
Milestones indicate things like movement, progress, advancement, etc. There may be a desired goal or a destination that a group or an individual has in mind. Milestones help in assessing how “the journey” is going. They may be noticed and possibly even acknowledged, but they are not intended to hinder progress.
Millstones can also have a positive purpose – literal millstones, that is. According to one online dictionary I consulted, a millstone is “one of a pair of cylindrical stones used in a mill for grinding grain.”
That same source provides some other definitions for that word which aren’t nearly as positive. Among those definitions is the following: “An obstacle to success. synonym: burden.
Could there possibly be any connection between milestones and millstones? I think that one possibility could be that a milestone can become a millstone if, or when, people begin to believe that a milestone is the goal and/or that enough has been accomplished. I suppose that another way of expressing this would be the old phrase – “resting on our laurels.”
Another possible way that a milestone can become a millstone has to do with the tendency of some people to begin to worship objects instead of God. Do the biblical accounts of the brass serpent or the golden calf come to mind?
There were no literal milestones erected yesterday. There was just a short amount of time set aside – apart from, not a part of – our worship to recognize where we have been as a people and to look forward to what, with God’s help, could be in our future. Nothing that happened was intended to minimize the fact that every Sunday is the Lord’s Day and that our focus should be on the One whose name we wear. We believe that, as long as we keep our priorities where they need to be, He will continue to bless those who worship and work together as a part of the Central family.
Donna and I have been blessed to be a part of the Central family for a little over one-third of its existence. A few people who worshiped together yesterday were also here at the very beginning. Neither they nor us are under any illusion that we will be here sixty years from now.
It is my prayer that, unless the Lord returns between now and then, there will still be a strong, sound, vibrant congregation which has passed many, many more milestones. If you are not or cannot be a part of our work, I would ask that you pray for us as we seek to serve Jesus.
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
