The Pastors Pen

Followers of The Way

At its outset, Christianity was not so much a system of beliefs as it was a way of life. In fact, there’s evidence that early Christians referred to their movement as “The Way.” Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, called us to believe in him and to belong to him, but mostly he called us to follow him. Over the centuries there have been many occasions when the church has believed and acted as though the hallmarks of true Christianity primarily consist in conformity to the prescribed doctrines, worship practices, and administrative order of the institutional church. More than once in its long history, the church has given the false impression that being Christian does not necessarily require a person (or an organization) to be Christ-like. But if being a disciple of Jesus means anything, it means striving to live as he lived, learning from his example of the way, the truth, and the life intended for us by God.

English poet John Oxenham once wrote that each of us makes a choice of the pathway we’ll pursue. He said, “The high soul climbs the high way, and the low soul gropes the low; and in between on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro.” Christ called us to walk the high way along with him. Christian people usually manage to avoid groping the low way of decadence and destructiveness. One reason that moral transgressions by individual Christians become so notorious is because they are so obviously inconsistent with the lifestyle of the Savior and Lord we proclaim. The “low way” is unacceptable to us. But there is probably much more drifting on the misty flats than we ought to tolerate in ourselves as Christ’s followers.

Sometimes the attitudes and actions of Christian people seem indistinguishable from those of the culture around us. Right now we’re living in times of economic uncertainty, turmoil and strife across much of the globe, and changes in the political and social climate of our own country. It’s understandable if the mood of the general population becomes anxious and self-protective, suspicious and even hostile. But Christ’s people are called to seek a higher way, the way of Jesus: to trust God as Jesus did and to live by faith, hope, and love, even when we’re tempted or provoked by others around us to follow them in pursuit of a lower way. The Way of Jesus is the High Way. The low way leads away from God and toward our mutual destruction. Drifting to and fro on the misty flats in between may look like a way to avoid hard choices, unpopular attitudes, and costly acts of courage and compassion. But that misty in-between way is not the Way of Jesus. The misty flats are no place for people who follow him.

Gary A. Batey, Pastor