Stay on the Path
And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-14
Allow me to spin a little story for you:
You get to the be protagonist of this story. Imagine that you’ve lived your life as a child of slavery. You were born into slavery the same as your parents and their parents before you. You’ve lived your whole life chained as a slave, but over time you come to realize that this is not the kind of life you want for yourself. Finally, one day a man is sent to buy you out of slavery. He pays an exorbitant price for your freedom and after purchasing you with his own blood, sweat, and tears, he tells you that not only has he purchased your freedom, but that his father, a very powerful man, wishes to adopt you into his own family. Your life becomes full of joy, and you love spending time with the one who paid the price for you.
Together, you set out on a journey that will end at the home of your father. The path is long and narrow. It has quicksand and hidden pits all along it. Now, the entire time you are walking down this path, the one who had you bound in slavery is constantly looking for ways to trip you and cause you to falter so that he might ensnare you again and use you for his gain, he can never own you again, but if he’s smart, he can at least get some use of you. You must constantly be sure to stay close to your new father’s son, so that the evil one won’t trick you. Also along this path are some of the most beautiful and serene places you’ve ever visited. To get to them sometimes you have to climb rocky ledges with scarce handholds, and slippery rocks that threaten to pull you down if you make the wrong choice, but the rewards of reaching that occasional summit keep you hopeful even when you’ve reached the lowest, muddiest muckiest parts of the path. Another thing to mention is that your new friend, the one who is sending you down this path… well, he’s walking every step with you. And on top of that, he’s walked this path before and done it without even getting his shoes dirty. So when times get hard, he is there to show you where to put your feet, if you will just listen to him.
Along the way, your new best friend, the one who came for you, asks you to do a little more. You see, his father is adopting a ton of other former slaves, just like you. He wants you to become a guide for others. Because you love him so much, you agree to do what he asks. In addition to making sure you yourself stay on this narrow path safely, he’s given you the job of telling others about the adoption available to them. So, anytime you see a slave along the way, you’re sure to tell them about your new father, and make sure they know how to get adopted and join you on this path you’re walking. But, you have to give more than just information, you have to give them all the details about the trail to help make sure that they are healthy and secure when they arrive. These new brothers and sisters that you’ve gained… you’ve developed a deep love for them, they actually become closer than family, you care about their well being and happiness, but they are traveling the same pot-marked and dangerous trail as you and sometimes they wonder off into the darkness. You don’t dare leave the trail and risk putting any other travelers in danger, but you stand at the edge and call to them hoping they’ll return to the group, because they brought something important to your little band of travelers. Their voice is missed by everyone, but everyone looks to you to get them to come back. And then, there are times when the way is exceedingly dangerous, and there seem to be two paths, equally safe to arrive at the other side. You alone are looked to for the answer. It doesn’t matter that this is your first time through this part of the path. And it doesn’t seem to matter which choice you make, your little band of travelers all have opinions, and they whisper them insistently in your ear. Either path that you choose will make half of your group unhappy, and while you tell them that the most important part is that we all continue down the path together, even if our footsteps don’t fall in the exact same mark each time, some of them become angry and wander from the path. The stress of this new and very dangerous part of the path is weighing on you, but you continue steadily down the path, because you know your father is depending on you to lead this little band of family safely home to him.
If you read carefully, you realize that you’re not the protagonist of the story after all. But, you know him. You sit under his sound advice and teaching every Sunday. And friends, we’ve hit a rough and rocky patch of the trail. There seem to be pitfalls every way we turn. Many of our brothers and sisters who travel along the path with us are wandering from the trail because they are worried about the things of the world, and right now the things of the world are scary. There is information out there that supports our opinions about a multitude of ways to make it through this especially dangerous part of the path. We may not always agree with our brothers and sisters, but we need to remember that we all love our Father, we’re all trying to walk this path, and though our footsteps may fall in slightly different steps occasionally, we need to all stay together. And, more importantly, we need to be talking to our Father daily and asking him to send every bit of help he can to our brother that’s guiding us.
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:15
Our pastors are God-called. I think sometimes in our familiarity we forget that. Their messages are directed from God, and God is capable of dividing up the words they speak in a way that each of us can apply them to our own circumstances. It is our own best interest to pray for them, to pray that they are filled by the Spirit and led in a way that best benefits us as a congregation. As I considered the amount of pressure we, as congregants, put on our pastors, 2 Timothy stood out to me. We expect exhortation, to be strongly encouraged to do something, but we never enjoy being reproved or rebuked (reprimanded or criticized) and yet our pastors are called to all of them, and with complete patience. I know I have to have personally worn on my pastor’s patience on occasion, and yet I have never felt it, from my current pastor nor any of the pastors I’ve been privileged to be under.
Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2
So, yes we are to listen to their teaching as we should submit ourselves to God Himself, but as our pastors are human and suffer from the same stresses and worries as we do, let’s take time every day (not just the last prayer before they take the pulpit) to lift them up in our prayers that they might come to us with exactly what we need to hear to keep us in the center of that narrow path, and while we kneel, pray for own eyes and hearts to be open to the words that God has for us.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Hebrews 13:17
Show up… to every service you can, it will make a difference in your own walk, I know from experience on both sides. Show love… not only to your pastor, but to all your brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all walking through scary territory right now, and although we may not agree on every detail of things of the world, we can agree that we all love Jesus. Show grace… that same grace that you would want to receive from friends, show it now doubly if at possible. Let’s pull together, rely on our Savior, and make it through this rough patch of the trail safely.
