Going for a walk together is a great way to get to know someone or
re-kindle a friendship that has maybe fallen off the radar a little. You get to
chat, listen, laugh and enjoy the views together. You have a shared goal of
reaching the summit of the mountain or the café at the end of the road!
Recently a man named Glenn started attending our church. Many of you
may have met him after the service. Glenn is an alcoholic. His life has been
full of disappointment and heartache. He has no contact with his family,
relationships have ended and he has no job and no money. Some of that has
contributed to him drinking too much, and some of it has been a result of his
drinking too much. He was also a young Christian.
Glenn has now gone to a Christian residential rehab center with the
aim of being free from his addiction and, maybe, in the long run helping others
in a similar position to him.
On the outside he looked very different from most other people in
our church, but isn’t a church supposed to be a place for all different types
of people? His life is a mess, but God is working. And this leads me to ask the
question;
How do you walk alongside someone who’s life is very different to
yours?
What do you say when their problems are something you have never
faced or the bible is ‘grey’ on?
How do you help them apply the bible to their lives and what will it
look like?
I am sure that Glenn will be the first of many people we will meet
as a church who have very complicated and messy lives, and I am by no means an
expert on dealing with the issues he faced but hopefully the following 3 things
will be helpful for all of us as we, God willing, walk alongside more people
like Glenn;
1.
The best things the church can provide
for anyone, and especially people like Glenn, is the gospel. Hospitals provide the best medical
care. Rehab centers give the best environment to help break an addiction. The
council is the best person to sort out housing. The church is the best place to
provide the gospel. We shouldn’t feel bad about referring people to someone
more qualified or specifically trained. If hospitals started trying to re-house
people and we started handing out medicine, the people coming to us would be in
more of a mess than they started! The best thing we can give is Jesus, other
practical things come after.
2.
It’s a family walk, not a solo hike. The amount of time, energy and
spiritual input people in Glenn’s situation need is more than 1 or 2 people can
give. Thankfully, God has given each of us the knowledge of the gospel of
Christ and so we can all have a role to play. Listening to hurts, providing lifts
to and from appointments, giving meals and reading the bible – all things that
just one person needs but that we all, as a church can provide. All of us can
walk alongside the ‘Glenns’ that come through out door, not just 1 or 2 chosen
people.
3.
It’s a long walk (so get some comfy
shoes!) Change takes time. I wonder if most of us would even think an
alcoholic could be a Christian? Perhaps we’re more used to discipling people
whose lives look like ours, but when a person’s life looks a mess on the
outside, and they then come to faith, we can’t expect everything to change in
an instant (barring a miraculous intervention from God). It might be that, in
this life, they never fully overcome their struggles. What we have to
understand is that we’re with them for the whole walk, and that it’s God that
changes people not us! If they are changing – however slowly – to be more like
Christ (and not just more like us!) then we can know that God is at work.
We need to be praying for those like Glenn who haven’t walked
through our door yet.
We need to be praying that as we meet more people like Glenn we are
prepared to carry the burden as a church family.
We need to be prepared to have our ideas about what a Christian
looks like challenged and changed.
We need to be prepared for the long haul and for disappointments as
people become Christians but struggle to break free from their way of life.
…And we need to keep praying for Glenn.
“and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the
gospel of peace.” Ephesians 6:15
