Last week I was called out-of-town for a trip I wanted nothing to do with.  It all revolved around a court case that stemmed from a smart guy who made a series of terrible decisions that ruined his family, his life and resulted in his prosecution.  I had no idea what any of this had to do with me, and to tell you the truth, I’m still not quite sure.

After spending several hours around people whom this gentleman had used or abused, I was asked a few questions and then sent home.  The experience was a depressing one to be quite honest.  First there was just the sad reality of all that bad choices had caused, and then just the whole atmosphere of the day.

I was glad to be on my way to the airport.  When the cab pulled up, the driver got out and grabbed my bag and opened the door; he was very polite and friendly… but there was something more than that.  He had a certain quality about him that I know well, and without his needing to say a single word, I knew for certain that he was a mature and sincere follower of Jesus Christ; my brother in the Lord.

Other than our faith in Christ, we have nothing much in common.  He is from the east coast, I’m from the west coast.  He is  African-American, I am white; our life’s experiences are really quite different.  In spite of our apparent differences, within a minute or two we were talking as though we had known one another for years. He was telling me about a ministry problem that he was confused by in his church, and the funny thing is that even before he had gotten very far in the story, I had a complete handle on what he was going to say and what he was going to ask.  When he finished, I heard myself giving him the solution to the riddle… where had that come from? To be honest, I’m not sure that even now I could tell you exactly what the issue was or what I said to him.

His reaction was amazing: “Yes! Why didn’t I see that?  Thank you Lord!”

Then something else happened that was surprising; he knew exactly where I was at that moment and offered the exact sort of encouragement that I need.

Now that I have had a few days to process all of this, it seems clear to me why I had to go on that little trip.  A brother in Christ needed help from someone outside of his regular circle and so did I.  We all know that the church is much bigger and more profound than our own little community of believers, and yet sometimes we lose sight of this in the day-to-day routine.  It makes no difference what our differences might appear to be, for whether they are cultural, ethnic, geographical or whatever, these are only earthly things.  The Body of Christ has no such limitations, and when believers will be still long enough to let the Holy Spirit work in their lives, powerful things can take place to advance the cause of Jesus Christ!