Alone or together?

“Yours for the Journey” means we are not alone. It means we belong to each other for the duration. It means that if you choose to mess up, you take me with you; and if I mess up, I take you with me. That’s the kind of thing that might make us think twice before we do something stupid. We have big words for this like “accountability” and “responsibility,” but in the end, it means that we are on a journey together. We are walking side by side.

Sadly, you can walk alone. You can let your relationships drop off until no one knows what you are doing anymore — you are suddenly walking alone — and that is a dangerous place to be. As social media people, we can have thousands of “friends,” but no one is actually walking with us.

Are you letting anyone into your life? “Yours for the Journey” means heart and soul, mind and strength devoted to the love of God and the love of others, and that’s not a general “others”: that’s your neighbor, the person you are walking with on your journey. Do you have someone like that, or, like me, do you need to stop and make a phone call?

Jesus asked twelve guys to join Him on a journey. He told them each the same thing. He said, “Follow me.” “Walk with me.” Not “Attend my seminar,” “Buy my book,” “Check out my online study,” “Join my Facebook page,” or “Become a member of my church,” but “Follow me.” Go where I go. Watch what I do. Sleep where I sleep. Eat with me. Walk with me. Talk with me. This is the God of the universe we are talking about here making Himself vulnerable to twelve companions.

Here’s a sad reality: Today, the ones who are most likely to be traveling alone are the leaders. We have lots of lone ranger leaders. What does that say about our model of leadership if our leaders walk alone, yet they are supposedly following someone who never did?

It’s such a simple thing that is sometimes hard to do: walk with someone. I honestly don’t think you can say you are following Christ if you are not walking and talking with someone along the way — someone you can tell everything to. Heart and soul. Doubts and struggles. Joys and sorrows. It’s got to be everything or it’s not very significant.

I’m speaking to you and I’m speaking to me. Mostly to me. Do you have someone with you or are you going it alone? And if alone, are you going to do something about that?