A parable of siblings

Let me try and regale you with a story.
This story may be used as an illustration but it is completely fictional and should not be read into.

In it we find two siblings. They being siblings came from the same place. They experienced much of existence together. That is not to say they interacted with the world the same. They were very different in that sense. One was more of a thinker while the other could only do. They encountered their surroundings in vastly different ways. As a thinker the first would drift through life seeing problems and imagining solutions to all these woes. Discussing and debating with others about structure and teaching. The first never really did much about anything except to discuss and talk about how things should be or what happened to be wrong about such and such a thing. Now the second sibling was much more of a doer. They acted far more than they thought. Although their actions may not of been well thought through, they at least did something. If asked for money they would give it away, if help was needed it was also given. Hungry and sick were cared for but the second sibling was not sure why they needed to care for them.

From here the siblings are called into pastoral ministry. The first sibling goes and discusses doctrine and orthodoxy with their pastor. Many great books and curriculum are written. In distant lands it has a mediocre affect. Sunday school and bible studies are the best they'd ever been. The second sibling goes  and feeds the poor and clothes the naked and does many good works at the encouragement of their congregation. All needs are met in their community. 


Yet in both cases the congregations shrink. The first sibling despite their best efforts to teach their community finds an inactive body. They are hungry to learn and already quite intelligent. Yet all things Christ are encountered within the walls of their meeting place. The community around them hurts and hungers but the church was unwilling to go and encounter these people. The second sibling on the other hand has a church of doers. They were active in their community but unwilling to share the gospel with those who had greater needs to be met. Once those needs were met they continued to serve only. 


Both on their own were incapable to "be Jesus" to their community. By having only doctrine or practice there is something that is lacking. We can neither be only well versed in doctrine or practice but must daily encounter both. Where are you lacking?! If you can say neither, the answer is probably both. Consider carefully the story of the siblings. It is because of their discomfort with what did not come natural to them that they did not engage in it throughly. "That is more like what my sibling would do." They would say. "There are others that will do that." Is more like what we say. Let yourself become uncomfortable. Whether you feel yourself to be stupid or sedentary do not let your predisposition dictate what you can or cannot do.