Fellow Travelers

The church is made up, not of salty saints who have got it all together, but rather of fellow travelers who have been set apart for the glory of God. We have been chosen to this task not because of who we are or what we have accomplished, but rather because of who Christ is and what He has accomplished. The church is not perfect.  It is not an exact image of Christ Jesus, True, we are called to bear His image, but in this broken and fallen world we bear it imperfectly. The church is made up of broken men and women who have found healing in the grace of God. We are sinners who have discovered grace at God’s table. being shocked that there is a place for each of us. Or as Desmond Miles once quipped, “we are beggars who have found the bread, and our task is to show other beggars where the bread is.”

One can easily become disillusioned with the church when one expects it to be perfect. If we believe that the church is made up of perfect people who perfectly embody the grace, love, and holiness of God, we will be most disappointed. The truth is that the church has experienced the grace and love of God most splendidly and has come to grips with the holiness of God. However, in our human nature we still reflect more of our selves than of our God. We, the church, need to realize also that we are fellow travelers.  All of us stumble. All of us fall.  We are broken, crippled, and at times shattered. God has called us to love Him with all of our heart, all of our strength, all of our soul, and all of our might; and then to love our neighbor as our selves.  We know the love of God from first hand experience, now we must demonstrate that love to one another. Perhaps the world has a skewed view of the church, because the church has a skewed view of itself. We often act like we have it all together, when the truth is we can’t even remember where we left it.

It’s time for the church to be the church. We must serve one another in love. God has called us to demonstrate His holiness, His love, and His grace to one another and to a fallen world. When we become one as, “fellow travelers” with one heart and one mind, taking on the mind of Christ, we will put others before ourselves and lose ourselves in serving one another. . .  then the world will see the church and get a glimpse of Jesus!