How far would you walk?

I am in a bible study that has recently been discussing Paul and his efforts to serve Jesus – from prison, where he spent considerable time.  He had started churches over a large region on more than one missionary journey.  He sent letters to these churches which were read aloud.  In those letters, he encouraged, corrected, and instructed believers in new churches.  In some, he told them how they could help him serve Jesus in ministry. 

This past week we read the following from 2 Timothy 4:9-13 NIV, “Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.  Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.  Only Luke is with me.  Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.  I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.  When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus at Traus, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.”

I feel like I am a fairly committed man.  Obedience is not a bad thing in my mind.  However, Paul was not Jesus.  He was a good man, but a servant, just like the people receiving these letters.  “Do your best to come to me quickly” was Paul asking Timothy to walk, not drive, fly, or Uber, several hundred miles, in sandals just to get these items - and then walk to Paul.  Some of these journey’s took weeks, some took months, some could have taken over a year.  This was after someone had walked from Paul’s prison to the church to deliver the letter. 

I live in Hays and in some cases this would be roughly the equivalent of a spiritual brother asking me to walk all the way to Kansas City to get them a jacket.  I have some spiritual brothers that I dearly love – I do not know what would make me do that.  His scrolls and parchments were in yet another city and he needed those as well.  Additionally, you know what we think of as parchment paper, is not that durable of a product.  It’s thin and made of easily torn paper.  They had to move it traveling by camel or on foot in wind and rain and heat – in a desert.  It had to be protected.

This had me thinking about how far I would go to serve Jesus.  I needed to evaluate my motivation.  Also, the man leading this bible study is sharp.  He knows a lot of history and background and information that is really fascinating.  I mentioned that I felt my study of this topic has not been good enough.  He calmly looked up and said, “You do realize that I went to bible college right?”  Nope, I did not.  That made me feel a little less like a slacker, but there is so much I can learn.

In the days since this conversation Jesus gave me a thought.  He did not ask me to walk across the State, but He did ask me to walk a specific journey, and I am in fact still on that journey.  Everyone has their own version of desert to walk through.  Ours revolves around a child killed at age 16, a child with autism and a child who had to walk through both of those things.

Jordyn had no warning about her death.  She did not suffer, she went home in a glorious instant.  Our long walk started after that and will lead all the way to heaven.  Walk to Kansas City and some people will notice.  Lose a child and suddenly your walk is one that everyone can see. 

Doctors warned us about the walk we were about to take when Korbin was diagnosed.  Their warning was insufficient.  If you have heard it before, I apologize, but he had a seven-year stretch of extreme sleep deprivation.  I would have rather crawled to Kansas City and that was just one specific struggle out of a hundred that he still faces.  But we have also seen glorious miracles in the midst of many of those struggles.

Aly has taken every step of both while fully aware of those parts of her walk.  There are parts of her walk unique to her.  She has lost a sister, but she has also lost several other people she loved.  She has walked through battles that I have seen make other people quit.  There is no quit in Alyson Reed. 

He did not ask me to walk across a desert, but He did put me in a position to participate in a walk that He could use.  I have said it before, but I think my direction from Jesus was clear.  He was going to use all of it, but I would need to be willing to spill my guts to strangers for Him.  So, I spill. 

Don’t evaluate your life by the absence or presence of long, hard walks.

Do you think some of the struggles in your life could be a journey that Jesus can use to reach others?

Challenge:  If you are on a walk that everyone can see, or one that only you can see, Jesus is using it.  Even if you cannot understand how, keep walking.