The Shepherds Staff, Travel abroad reveals spiritual truths
07-03-2009Bud Reeves
Special contributor
It was an interesting spring for Karen and me. For 30 years, we had not been out of the country except for a couple of mission trips to Mexico and a couple of border crossings into Canada. Then in the space of three months, we had the opportunity to make two transatlantic trips — one to the Holy Land with a church group, and a long-awaited family vacation to Scotland and England. Both trips were wonderful.
I think getting over jet lag twice has cured us of the traveling bug for a while, although there are places I would like to revisit, and there are other places I’d still like to go.
So within the space of a few weeks, I walked where Jesus and John Wesley both walked. Talk about a double mountaintop experience! Those moments were the fulfillment of two of my lifeís dreams. Suffice it to say my “bucket list” is now two items shorter.
As I have reflected on these trips, several insights have occurred to me:
(1) History is a lot more interesting in person. It’s one thing to read about it in a book (even the Bible) or to see pictures or video, but really being in a location adds a depth to history that cannot be expressed, only experienced. To be in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, to walk the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, to touch the pulpit where Wesley preached or to stand in the chambers where kings and queens once engaged in the intrigues of English history — it makes the stories come alive.
If the key to history is personal contact, how much more important is the human touch for our ministry?
(2) Our spiritual icons were single-mindedly focused on their mission. Though I knew this, it became apparent in an even more powerful way by being on location. Jesus and John Wesley were both focused on the Kingdom at the expense of everything else, even their lives if necessary. To accomplish what they accomplished in the environment in which they operated is simply incredible, except that it was all a God thing.
Neither Jesus nor John Wesley compromised just to please the crowd. They didn’t “make nice” with people. They were lousy politicians. But they were great Kingdom-builders. Their love was fierce; they told the truth and let the chips fall. I believe that’s why we follow them today.
Are we more interested in pleasing people than God?
(3) The environments of change are harsh and hostile. First-century Palestine was no picnic; neither was 18th century England. There was poverty, oppression, suffering and despair in every quarter.
The vested interests of the powerful were arrayed against the visionary and the Spirit-led. The stories of Jesus and John Wesley are stories that include opposition, conflict and sacrifice. We have become so comfortable in the church that we avoid the sacrifice it takes to be God’s people in a broken and sinful world. But that’s exactly when the big movements of the Spirit occur.
What would it take to pry us out of our comfortable pews and pulpits to take Christ into the streets?
(4) The reason we remember Jesus and John Wesley today is because of the quality of their followers. Without the apostles and their proclamation that turned the world upside down, Jesus would have been another tragic chapter in the history of failed messiahs. As it was, generations of devoted disciples — led by the Spirit — took the Gospel across the planet, often losing their lives in the process.
Without the circuit riders, Methodism would not have survived Wesley’s death. But because they sacrificed homes, families and health to spread the good news of God’s grace, today the spiritual descendants of Wesley number in the tens of millions.
These journeys back to my spiritual roots left me wondering: Am I doing all I can to serve my God? Am I “pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus?” (Philippians 3:14)
Can I make a difference with my life that will create a lasting contribution? What will the legacy of this generation be — in the church and in the world? Will anyone ever visit our churches because the story of our faithfulness makes it inspiring just to be there?
Maybe we should all be wondering...
William O. “Bud”Reeves is senior pastor of First UMC, Hot Springs. He can be reached at brobud@fumchs.com.
