Scripture:
Dear friend, you act faithfully in whatever you do for our brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers.They spoke highly of your love in front of the church. You all would do well to provide for their journey in a way that honors God,because they left on their journey for the sake of Jesus Christ without accepting any support from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to help people like this so that we can be coworkers with the truth.
Consider:
In the era I call PK - Pre-Kids - my husband and I loved to take a day to go hiking - but we were not what you would call “pre-planners”. Often, I’d just pick a spot on the map, we’d drive there, then we’d take whatever path looked appealing at the time. For a little while Post-Kids, we tried to do the same things - just pick whatever path appealed and it mostly worked out fine, until the one time we picked a path which crossed a fairly rapid river and, while everyone else made it across ok, I fell and dropped my daughter’s favorite stuffy - the one she carried everywhere and I had promised to protect. It was a disaster. We started looking ahead to make sure any path we picked didn’t have any streams to cross.
When was the last time you set out on a path uncertain of the destination? In a world where maps are at your fingertips, we no longer step out into the world unaware or unprepared for what happens along the way. We almost never step out the door without a destination in mind.
However, this is contrary to the action our ancestors took when building the early church and initially spreading the good news of the gospel. “They left on their journey for the sake of Jesus Christ without accepting any support from the Gentiles”. I don’t leave my house without back up water and a snack in case I get hungry.
What would it look like if we learned to live a little more boldly when it comes to acts of faith? Are we afraid of what might happen if we “mess up”?
Living into grace and the freedom God provides us isn’t so we have extra time to watch TV. Instead, we are set free in our to act courageously because we do not have to worry about our future. When we say “God is in control”, that isn’t so we don’t have responsibility, it’s so we can step out our spiritual front door and go down the path God makes for us - even and especially when we don’t know the destination.
Respond:
Take a few moments to consider the "disaster" of dropping a prized possession. What specific "failure" or "mess up" are you most afraid would happen if you followed a path without a clear map?
Then ask, how likely is this to happen to me? What is the one next step I can take towards the unknown which leaves me short of encountering this biggest fear?
Pray:
Ancient God, help us to be bold when there is a path currently in front of us that looks appealing but feels "uncertain" or "unmapped". Show us the very first step we can take down that path this week, even if we don't know where it ends. Amen.
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