01/25/2026
This is the essay from today’s Memento Bible study. While it is about our life of faith, I believe it is also a good reflection of our life as members of a LERT team. We train and learn so we are all pointed in the same safe direction. We prepare and maintain our equipment, as well as our minds and bodies so that our equipment and our bodies do not fail in the midst of a deployment. And we all know our end destination, to bring God’s love to those in need. So take a moment to read this short essay and think about yourself and your team.
May our Lord in heaven guide our teams so we are faithful to him and the mission he has called us to.
A core description of the life of faith throughout the Bible is that of “walking a path.” This image is helpful for understanding our Christian calling. We must first be aimed in the right direction. This is faith. And then we walk. Simple steps, ordered in the right direction, continually engaged. Left, right, left.
The Christian life is not primarily about dramatic moments, but about steady movement. Faith sets the direction. Discipline is the act of walking it out, day after day, step by step.
C.S. Lewis builds on this same imagery when he describes the Christian life as a fleet of ships aiming at a successful voyage. He notes that three things must happen for the journey to succeed. First, the ships must avoid crashing into one another. Second, each ship must be in working order. If the rudder is rusted, the steering wheel shattered, or the crew belligerently drunk, the ship cannot avoid collision. Third, the fleet must be headed in the right direction. If the ships avoid collision but arrive in the wrong place, the voyage is still a failure.
This illustration is helpful for understanding the nature of the Christian life together. We often focus primarily on the first point. As long as we are not crashing into those around us, avoiding open conflict or obvious failure, we assume things are going well. But Lewis reminds us that this is not enough. The condition of each ship matters, and it matters for the sake of the whole fleet.
Scripture speaks clearly about this shared responsibility. The author of Hebrews tells us that we are to be involved in spurring one another on toward love and good works. This assumes proximity, regular presence, and shared life. We are not meant to pursue faithfulness alone. God places us together so that our lives may be shaped through one another in steady and ordinary ways.
This brings us back to that simple biblical description of walking the path. The Christian life is not anchored in grand conference experiences, thirty-day sprints, or sudden epiphanies in the middle of the night. It is formed through daily habits. Walking eventually becomes muscle memory. We stop thinking about each step and simply move forward. For each of us, learning to walk was one of the most significant physical accomplishments of our lives, even though we no longer remember the effort it required.
The Christian life in action is about walking together as we learn healthy habits and allow them to become second nature, while also addressing the unhealthy patterns that arise along the way. This kind of formation is not automatic. My Marine friend can quickly recognize moments of chaos and respond instinctively. My accountant friend can spot my financial missteps with half his brain tied behind his back. St. Paul could recall the words of Moses from memory. These abilities were formed through time, repetition, and practice.
Shared discipline does more than form habits. It forms bonds. When men commit to the same practices, at the same pace, over time, they learn to trust one another. They see perseverance up close. They recognize weakness without surprise. Walking together does not remove difficulty, but it steadies us through it.
During Lent, we are invited into a season of focused training. This is a valuable and necessary time. But the Christian life does not end with intensity. It is designed for both seasons of discipline and seasons of rest. Easter brings feasting and joy, and ordinary time carries us forward in steady faithfulness. The road goes ever on and on. At times it is muddy and uphill. At other times it is bright and easy underfoot. Through every season, we keep walking.
We are all on this journey together. We tend to our ships, walk the same road, endure the storms, and enjoy the clear air side by side. Discipline practiced together does not make us impressive. It makes us faithful. So keep walking. Take the rain with the sunshine. Lean into the rhythms God has given, and trust that steady faithfulness, practiced together, is never wasted.
“Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Memento Mori,
Pastor Bryan Stecker
