Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Jesus Creed

Home
Evangelical
Marc the Travel Agent (by John Frye)

Marc the Travel Agent (by John Frye)

Last updated on: February 24, 2017 at 4:15 am by Scot McKnight

Marc the Travel Agent (by John Frye) 2017-02-22T18:59:34-06:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Marc the Travel Agent, by John Frye

Marc, the part-time travel agent, sparked enthusiasm in people and closed sales on travel packages to countries he had never visited. His customers bought into his descriptions of the foreign cities and countrysides, the delicious foods and delightful smells of market stalls, the stunning architecture and cobbled streets, the intriguing language and colorful clothing, the pleasing weather and gorgeous night skies. Eager customers usually walked away saying, “It must be nice to be him—a traveler of the world.”

Marc hardly ever left his city. Once he went to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. That’s it. Yet, Marc read his way through travel brochures, memorizing good phrases and remembering dazzling pictures. Marc also roamed the Internet. He reveled in knowing that he could travel the world on the Internet. Among the travel agents, Marc, only working 20 hours a week, got the most awards. Without going anywhere.

Marc was a good Christian guy. Even more, he was a pastor. He was as attentive to his faith and its routines as he was to his sales job. He studied his Bible, he listened to scholarly talks on the Internet, he read the best commentaries, he served his little church faithfully, and occasionally served in the city’s soup kitchen for indigents. Marc wasn’t shy to talk about his church at Rotary Club and while playing golf with other salespersons. Sometimes his friends would comment, “That Marc, he sure is a good fellow; a kind, religious guy. He sure knows his way around the Bible.”

Marc was good, but had never really visited God much either. As he had never visited Italy. What Marc had going was that he was good with words. He had a winning, whimsical way about him. He was very good at weaving an inviting story about Paris and a fascinating story about the Apostle Peter. Reading brochures and reading the Bible gave Marc the ability to sell a trip and to sell a lie. Marc wanted to be liked, but he didn’t want to be known. When people would ask, after one of his fascinating travel descriptions, “Have you actually been to Sydney, Australia?” Marc would simply say, “Oh! It’s such a beautiful city! And what a country.”

One day, Bradley, the founder and manager of Pleasant World Tours, the company Marc worked for, called Marc in for a conversation. The company was opening a new in-country extension of their business in Frankfurt, Germany. Bradley insisted on sending Marc for the opening of PWT’s new branch. “You’ll be leaving Monday. The trip’s booked and all your expenses covered. Anything you have to spend out of pocket will be reimbursed. Enjoy the trip, Marc.” Marc’s pleasure at being asked smothered underneath the anxious dread he felt. He had to really travel.

The Delta flight went fast and the jet was touching down in Germany. After deplaning and taking the shuttle bus to the Frankfurt terminal, Marc stood bewildered in the bustling airport hallways. Foreign, unintelligible words rang out from the speakers announcing flights and other information. This startled him. Marc saw no signs that he could read. He heard many different languages from the groups of people walking by him. He asked several people if they spoke English and they shook their heads no.

He was afraid. “Where’s my luggage? How do I get a taxi? How do I tell them where my hotel is? How do I pay? Will they take my US dollars?” Marc felt sweaty and very sick. He was all alone. He had no words to describe Frankfurt, Germany to himself. He had, however, exuberantly sold to others at least 15 trips to various German cities, including Frankfurt.

Marc moved from the hallway to a near-by gate area and sat down. The people in that gate had boarded so the space was empty except for two from the airport cleaning crew. It felt safe from the alien roar of the airport terminal.

“What am I going to do?” Marc thought sitting bent over and holding his head in his hands. No charming words. No fabulous descriptions. No sales to make. No image to maintain. “I’m good at selling things that I have no clue about,” he concluded as he endured a sharp pain in his soul and felt its sting in his eyes.

God sat down next to Marc. Invisible, yet more real than the chair Marc sat on. Marc sensed somewhere in his brain a Voice.

“Marc, you can sell what you don’t know, but you can’t love what you don’t know. You don’t love Germany right now, do you?”

Marc coughed out a garbled laugh saying out loud, “No, I don’t!” Embarrassed, he looked up and saw one of the cleaners warily staring at him. Almost involuntary Marc shouted to the cleaner, “Do you speak English?” The cleaner nodded.

“Would you help me? I’m lost.”

The small, old woman came over and sat by Marc.

“How can I help you, sir?”

Marc explained his plight to the lady.

After the conversation with and direction from the old cleaning woman, Marc found himself with his luggage in a taxi headed to his hotel. He discovered that the new PWT branch was just a city block from where he was staying.

That night a thought kept rumbling around in Marc’s mind as he lay in the hotel bed. “You can sell what you don’t know, but you can’t love what you don’t know.”

Marc said, “God, if you are here. I want to love you. Will you love me?”

The Voice answered, “I already love you, Marc. To love me back, I want the real you. Will you let me love that person? Will you lay down your fear of being fully known?”

“Yes, God,” Marc whispered into the dark.

Kindly the Voice said, “Be prepared to be frightened for awhile as you discover your authentic self. Taking off masks clued to your soul is a painful process. It won’t be easy. It will feel very much like a trip to a foreign place. Marc, love is never a sales pitch.”

Uncategorized

Previous Post

February 24, 2017

The Pastor and Depression

Next Post

February 25, 2017 Weekly Meanderings, 25 February 2017

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did Jesus say to Lazarus to raise him?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Live again! Be healed! Awake! Lazarus, come out!