Having just completed four days on the road in a car, I can say I really
missed riding. The Mustang was OK, until we hit US 191, aka “the devils road,”
because of its former 666 designation. A straight shot and winding curves
rising to 4000’ to Clifton, then to Morenci and past the world largest open pit
mine, one you must see to believe, the truck tires are over 10’ tall, and the
trucks down below look small until parked next to a semi, and you can barely see
the semi. Big boys toys, trucks the Tonka trucks were based on, and then the
road changes. Leaving Morenci, a company town where all housing is company
owned, the road immediately snakes and curves for the next 85 miles, or 2 1/2
hours by car up to 9300’, then down into Alpine, and all its 145 people.
Unbelievable beauty, to be shared with only the one you are with, at one time we
saw only 6 cars in 48 miles. We passed rams 2-3 times, and a group of deer by
the road and stopped counting 12 one other. No cell service, only the road and
the beauty that surrounds it, we will go back next spring on two wheels. No gas
stops, no general stores, no traffic, and no noise, the silence can be
deafening! Looking much like Colorado, it is a different side to Arizona that
we didn’t think existed. But now that the secret is out I hope you can keep it,
I’m depending on you.....
I have traveled many lightly traveled roads in the past, and often gone
miles before seeing another car, but there was and is a certain beauty to this
ride. It seemed very personal, as around each curve the view was different, and
just when you thought you had reached the top, another peak loomed ahead.
Suddenly the 4000 who call Morenci home made it feel like a metropolis, with
stop signs and lights and everything. But out here, no trucks, semis, minivans,
and very few other to interfere. Just like we would like our lives to be, but
so often aren’t, as one person on the side of the road on a freeway will cause a
jam, or a red light have traffic backed up, or the commute to Temecula has
traffic backed up 13-15 miles every afternoon, I dream of roads like this, and
the chance to ride them. Where the biggest threat is leaving without a full
tank or seeing wildlife on the road. They all looked at us like “who are you
guys and what are you doing here?” Not sure how I would have answered...
But yet there were many turnoffs for mountain roads and hiking trails in
the midst of this national forest. You could go as far as your courage and
curiosity would take you. Which reminds me of my walk with Jesus. Like many I
have spent many years in church, learning about Jesus, learning the scriptures
and being taught. But until I got out and saw the beauty in experiencing Jesus,
not just knowing him, I didn’t realize how lonely the road I was on was. I was
in a traffic jam of fellow believers, stuck in church, and not leaving the
safety of what I knew and what had been taught. We are told to walk in faith,
yet we hide inside four walls, our faith never being tested so it can grow. We
follow the main road, the prescribed teaching, and don’t want to leave it, lest
we encounter trouble. We only need Sunday, maybe a midweek service, we read
religiously every day, and then keep it to ourselves. We never get to see what
is over the hill because we never reach the top of it, and we never get to know
Jesus first hand. Oh we say we do, but when on a lonely road of divorce,
cancer, losing your job, facing financial ruin, or a personal problem, do we
turn to him or what we know? I know a man who can quote scripture like many who
have been through programs, a word for each situation, yet have never known how
personal Jesus can be. In those situations they never see him as the wonderful
counselor who can heal their marriage, the great physician who heals them, the
great provider who meets their need instead of their income, and how he never
leaves us nor forsakes us when we turn to him. It is possible and probable we
can go through life and be around people, but be lonely and alone. We tend to
practice what we have learned, and sadly go back to that which we know when in
trouble. Remember the problem Moses had with the Jews who rather go back to
Egypt and be in slavery just because the food was better?
Are we being fed great food but not benefitting from it? Do we feed on the
word for knowledge but never let it sink into our hearts? Does a sign saying no
service for 85 miles scare you or excite you? No cell service, who do you call
when you need assistance? Very simply Jesus spent his life on the road, he was
born there, his parents were traveling, he entered into Jerusalem on it, Philip
met the eunech on it, two men were mystified encountering him on the road, and
he was hung on a cross, along the road? What if Jesus never got out of the
temple, how different would things be? Maybe giving a new understanding of how
we are the temple the holy spirit dwells in, wherever we go, Jesus is. Alone
but never alone, the best prayer partner, the holy spirit with us, and never
lonely. The great shepherd who knows the ways and pitfalls, yet too many live
their Christian walk stuck in traffic, just trying to keep up, a competition
among the members, with few striking out on their own in Jesus. I know many
who have gone to Israel and walked where Jesus walked, I rather know I walk with
him and he with me. My God is alive!
I also know those who would never travel a road called the devils highway,
yet do everyday in fear. Fear is not of God, reverence of him is, and shown by
our actions, then our words. You will only practice what you have been taught
when your heart is fully convinced. Until then it is knowledge, it only becomes
wisdom when used. God gave us a mind to think, and a will to make the
decisions. Are you like my friend who after passing the same diner for the
third time realized his GPS was wrong, or do you strike out on your own,
applying what you know and eating richly while others still are looking for a
place to eat and park? Your actions reveal what you believe, the words form
your mouth what is on your heart. I’m just glad that I am alone many times when
the part of me still in process is revealed, and even gladder that God provides
me mercy in it. So get out and ride, get out and live, get out and experience
Jesus. When some tell of their Christian knowledge, you can talk of your
experience in him. There is a difference.....
And if the road you are on is rough, know you are probably on the right
road, and Jesus is the shock absorber. The active suspension that can keep us
on the road. It is in the curves of life we learn to hang on and lean, and
where we find Jesus. And the straight and narrow, for that is the shortest way
between two points. God made both for our enjoyment, I rather lean on Jesus in
the curves than on cruise control on the freeway, just waiting for the right
exit to get off. The open pit showed me how far of a pit we can dig and fall
into, and how little we are in it when viewed from the top. How big your God is
to you will be shown by the roads you take, and who goes with you. The
loneliest road may be a traffic jam, funny how we never felt alone the whole
ride, and how 145 people can seem like such a big crowd.....
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com