A few weeks ago on Facebook there was a post that just said: “As I get older and I remember all the people I have lost along the way, I think to myself, maybe a career as a tour guide wasn’t for me!”
I was reminded of that last week as I read the opening chapter of a book called “A long obedience in the same direction.” It is a book all about spiritual growth and the author laments at the beginning that the people he leads in worship, among whom he counsels, visits, prays, preaches and teaches want short cuts. they are impatient for results and have adopted the lifestyle of tourists, only wanting the high points. But a pastor is not a tour guide and hitting the highlights and providing shortcuts is not what we are about. Spiritual growth is a journey that is long and sometimes tortuous, and like anything worth pursuing takes time and effort. If we are to be pilgrims and disciples we need to devote our lives to a journey, a long journey that only ends at the gates of heaven while we live as disciples apprentices to our master Jesus Christ.
I am not a tour guide, just a fellow pilgrim. Come let us take a long walk together.