On Vacation

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Whenever we stay at someone's house on vacation we end up cleaning the house while we're there. It isn't that we don't think our hosts are tidy enough, it's just our way of paying back their hospitality. We fully understand that during our stay the homeowners incur higher costs - automobile, utility, etc - while most likely taking a few days off from work to show us around. Not only do we help out around the house and put gas in the car, we try to ensure we pay for some of the meals we eat together, whether at home or at a restaurant.

Call it what you may, but it's just our way of letting our hosts know how much we appreciate what they are doing for us. It isn't easy to let someone into your home. If you're like us you go through a lot of preparation for guests. You look at your work schedule for days you'll be able to take off or work a half-day. You make plans and reservations for varying forms of entertainment. You even try to find time for your guests to be able to spend time alone, and sometimes that time alone is for your sanity as well.

The point is that neither those who visit nor those who host just sit back and let whatever happens happen without putting a lot of effort into it. Such is the way with our faith.

Sometimes we're the guests of someone else's faith. We sit and walk with them, listening to their personal journey with God. As we walk with them we help them with some minor jobs around their spiritual house. Maybe they need an ear to listen to them as they struggle with questions about their faith. Maybe they need an arm to lean on as they struggle to move in one direction or another. Maybe they need a heart to feel with theirs as they come to a realization about their own truth.

As we work side by side with them we also grow in our faith. We understand what it means to be in a relationship based in the unconditional acceptance of God. We are able to reflect on our own journey and ask ourselves the hard questions, knowing that we now have someone to share those questions with us. We're even able to change, if change is warranted, based on new discoveries of new ideas based in honest and open conversation.

The idea passed on through today's passage is that we should never stand still along our journeys. If we are guests we should work for our keep. If we are hosts we should prepare fully. The one thing we should not be is stagnant. The journey towards God is not one riddled with rest stops, rather one filled with valleys, hills, and straight paths. This doesn't mean we have no place to rest along our faith journeys, it just means that even at rest we should continue to do something to grow our faith.

It's no wonder we always need a vacation to get over our vacation.