No Need to do this Alone - Lent Day 8

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." - Jesus, John 13: 34-35

One of the great things about journeys is the people you meet and fall in love with along the way. We've been talking about Lent as a journey, a journey to the Cross, and - for me - the best moments so far have been shared with others.

There are places - and certainly times - when my spiritual path is solitary. It can be necessary, and there are things it's only possible to accomplish when we're alone. I'm anticipating those experiences along the way and I'll share them when appropriate. But, my experience over the last couple of weeks has been beautifully community oriented. Or, to use a phrase from "the Unmaking of a Part-Time Christian", Christianity is best experienced as a team sport.

I'm so grateful that I can share my faith with Rebekah. To be able to have a conversation - over breakfast - about something I learned about God during my morning devotion; to call her at work and say, "Hey! You wouldn't believe what I was just reading in Colossians, it's so cool!" or driving across the state together, listening to a sermon she preached while I was out of town, and talking for the next hour about faith, or grace, or being a servant-leader, communion....

Then there's my Men's Room small group that meets Wednesday evenings. These are more fellow travelers I've fallen in love with along the way. Yesterday we were discussing the meaning of "significance" in our life journey. We told stories about some of the people who have impacted our lives, we talked about how we influence others (for good or for ill), and got excited about the opportunity we all have to make a difference, every single day, no matter what we're doing.

There are many people in our immediate circles, and others we will meet along the way, and they will understand something profound about faith because they have or will interact with us. They will understand that following Jesus means something, or that - possibly - the journey is not as significant as we like to pretend.

By the official count, this is Day 9 of the season of Lent.

Here's the question: are we going anywhere? Or are we simply marking time?

Either way, we don't have to journey alone - DEREK