I always find it interesting to note that after Jesus' wilderness temptations, as he starts his ministry that he calls twelve very flawed people- his disciples- to journey with him. I always imagine that it would have been easier for him to journey by himself but for some reason, Jesus' first act was to call people to share with him in his journey. And so it is with the people of God. When God called Moses, God called him to go to the people of Israel and take them also into the wilderness. When God called Abraham and Sarah, he also called the thousands of descendant who would come after them. When Paul wrote his letters it was to the whole church at Corinth, Ephesus and Galatia. God always calls us in community as the whole people of God to journey together in our journeys of faith. We aren't called to do it all alone. We are not lone rangers in our faith journeys.
It is like the journey our senior highs take to hike the mountains of Colorado. We do not send them out on their own. If we did they would probably perish. Instead we send them out with a guide who knows the mountains and knows how to gauge the weather warnings to stay safe on the journey. We send them out in a group who looks after each other. If one person has trouble with their backpack, we don't leave them behind but we share part of their burden so that they can continue. And on the trip we become profoundly aware that God is with us on the journey- in the beauty of creation, in the image of each person we travel with and in the strength God's spirit gives us to continue on the journey. The power of this trip is that we can't do it on our own, any more than we can go on our Christian journey of faith alone. We are part of a community even and especially as we travel through the wildnerness of life together.
Think about the journeys you have taken and the people you have journeyed with. I remember each person that went with me on the backpacking trip five years ago and some difference they made in the trip. I remember how fun it was in my recent Germany trip to share these new experiences and trials of travel with each other and how together we were able to turn things that would have been problems into times that were fun and memorable and tranforming.
I guess God knew what he was talking about when he said "It's not good that man should be alone". I guess Jesus knew what he was talking about when he sent the disciples out two by two. I guess the Apostle Paul knew what he was talking about when he said "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." (1 Cor. 12:26,27)
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