What’s the difference between a travel agent and a tour guide?
Donna O is a travel agent—and a good one, at that! She tells schools about where they might like to go. She finds the best plane tickets, restaurants, and hotels, and books them for you. You hand her money. She hands you an itinerary and tickets.
A tour guide has a very different job. The travel agent stays home; the tour guide gets on the bus and goes with you. He sees the same things you see and experiences the same things you do. He makes the trip better by pointing out the good stuff and warning you about the bad stuff. He goes with you.
Christians ought to think of themselves as tour guides. We walk with each other through this world. We point out the highs and the lows. We warn of danger in the road ahead, and give encouragement that hope is just around the corner. When our brothers and sisters are down, we’re down, too. When they rejoice, we rejoice. (Sound like Romans 12:15 to me!)
All too often, we are tempted to act more like travel agents. We tell people to come to church, get a ticket, and say we’ll meet you in heaven. You’re on your own until then.
Believers have fellowship with each other. That words means “sharing” or “partnership.” The idea is that we’re in it together! So let’s make sure that we’re more like tour guides and less like travel agents.