Living back east, most of our rides were heading west. Which in the
afternoons meant riding into the sun. It always seemed that at 4 pm we would
hit the wall, that exhaustion after a long day and many miles would hit us, and
we would stop. Sometimes a Tootsie Roll and a soda would be enough, sometimes a
rest stop and lying your head on the table. It always seemed the seemed the
last 200 miles, or 3 hours was the longest, yet we were traveling at the same
speed we had all day. But we would make it somehow, and after arriving at our
motel, after a brief rest felt ready to go again. But secretly were glad to be
in for the night. It seemed our riding into the sunset at first was tortuous,
every bone in the body hurt, the eyes burned from the sun in them, but we kept
riding into it. We would ride into the sunset but never quite catch it over the
horizon. It was always just there in front of us, and we only crossed paths
with it when the sun went down. And the dusk with its limited light was harder
to ride in than the darkness that covered it. And it always seemed the sun got
bigger as it got lower, and close enough to touch, just unreachable. All the
excitement of the day’s ride in the last 200 miles.
But only if heading west. From Cali we only seem to go east, or north, and
going east can be brutal in the mornings. You are fresh, but the brightness of
the sun also is. It can take the same 200 miles depending upon time of
departure to get the sun from your eyes. Maybe that explains why we ride for
breakfast, maybe 100 miles, then stop and eat. We have a good start behind us,
and after eating, the sun is higher, we are refreshed, and the rest of the day
looks bright-no pun intended. Stephen Stills once sang “don’t look at my shadow
it’s behind me...” and although we seem to be riding towards the sun, we never
can reach it. An outstretched arm seems to almost touch it, but yet it is
elusive. And so it is as it has for cowboys and their ladies everywhere, we all
ride into the sunset, we just never reach it. And we have the night to dream
about tomorrow and the next day’s ride, another sunrise awaits and a new day
calling.
Psalm 90 talks of God from everlasting to everlasting. From vanishing
point to vanishing point, from elusive sunset to sunset. He goes back before
the beginning and goes past of the future. He is beyond time and space, before
the sun coming up, and after it goes down. While we were asleep last night, he
was wide awake preparing the next day for us, planning our ride before we even
hit the road. He lives beyond the sunset, yet many try to catch him, only to
find him elusive. Yet it is not God who is avoiding us, it is us avoiding him.
We set our own ride, and look for him in it. We sometimes give him a choice of
rides to bless us, and sometimes he hands the trip planner back marked “none of
the above.” Road closed, danger ahead. Yet we try to get him to go our way,
when we need to go his way. He is the great I am, and his beginning goes back
farther than a vanishing point, and goes on farther than the horizon’s vanishing
point. Yet many claim it is God’s fault when they cannot find him, that all
roads lead to him, just not the one they are on right now. They ride endlessly
into the sun, but never consider God’s son Jesus. They don’t ask for direction,
and grumble when they find they are lost. They may pray “God where are you?”
but never stop to consider where they are. And what is the first thing you ask
someone who needs directions? Where are you? For without knowing where you
are, you cannot get the directions to go where you want. And little or a lot,
lost is lost. We know we are heading east in the morning, the sun tells us so,
and we know west is ahead as we head into the sunset. But what if you are in
between, or heading north or south, with no sun to guide you? Can you follow
your shadow sideways, looking for the light to guide you? How many of us in our
trip planning include God, and when we do, ask him rather than tell him?
Anyone who rides looks at the skies before we start out. We listen to the
wind, and dress accordingly. We trust the things we see, but not the one we
don’t see. We trust the creation, but not the creator. We ride into the sun,
but not with the son. We lean on our own understanding, not the one who was
there at the day of creation. And so many ride into the sunset, seeing his
creation, but never seeing him. No matter how fast, or how slow, we cannot
touch the horizon, it somehow always seems just out of reach. But you can touch
the son, who is reaching out to you, who wants to save you, and have a
relationship with you. Who wants to be part of your ride, and take you into the
sunset. Who knows the way you need to go, and has gone ahead of you planning
the ride. But it is only when his spirit guides us do we know the way. Many
look for signs, only to find detours ahead. Some plan on going it alone, yet it
is only in Christ that we find fulfillment. Only in him do we get to know the
creator, and find him more attractive than the creation. God is the God of
creation, he formed the hills where we ride, the plains that seem endless, and
the horizon we chase after. And after the sun sets, he is still active. He
also created the night from the day, and it is only in Jesus will we be
separated from the darkness. To ride in the light. So why ride in the dark
when you can see life in Christ?
He who created you can also create a way back to him, and he did in Jesus
Christ. For God does not want you to ride alone in darkness, but to see him in
all the things he created for us. He wants us to join him in everlasting, yet
he gives us the choice. Many only ride into the sunset, in Jesus we come out on
the other side.
So in the in between times remember that he loves you. Wake up in a good
morning Lord attitude, rather than a good Lord it’s morning. In everyday past
and those to come, the sun will set at sometime. And when it does make sure you
are resting in the arms who never sleep. Who are just as alive in the bright
sun, as he is in the night. And when day breaks and there are clouds, remember
he is just on the other side of them. Protecting you, and giving you cover.
How special are the first rays of sun after a rain, we see the freshness that
God has provided. A special smell, a clean. We ride assured that he is with
us, and when 4 o’clock hits, and we rest, we find rest in him. The sun may set,
but God’s love for us never will. From the rising of the sun, to its setting,
he has given us his son to guide and protect. And when we live by his spirit,
when we see things through his eyes, we see all the in between colors of the
rainbow, not just what man sees, but we see the everlasting God. Infinitely
large, and infinitely small, he is in all things. And when he is in you, when
you are in him, his spirit will reveal the beauty that others only dream of.
Some ride into the sunset, those of us who know Jesus ride with the son. In the
son. And we anxiously await what is on the other side of the sunset. The days
may end, but God goes on. A ride I decided to take years ago, and found a road
that takes me farther than the horizon. A road that leads to my home in
heaven....where after the sun sets, the son sits. The best way to end a ride, a
good way to start one, and an even better place to spend one. With Jesus.
Don’t wait until 4 pm to seek shelter...ride with him now. So many roads, so
little time. Aren’t you glad an everlasting God is eternal? Where are you
riding tomorrow? I’ll be riding beyond the sunset....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com