We always start our trips out with great anticipation, we cannot wait to
get on the road, and when the day finally arrives, and the last second checks
and rechecks have been done, when we finally throw the leg over the bike and
ride off, our attitudes change. We have finally escaped, and for the first 100
miles or so, review in my mind all the things I needed to do and all the things
I needed to pack. It will take a few hundred miles to unwind, as no one will
take care of your home as you do, and as the miles pass, so do the concerns of
home. The first meal, and the first night out call to us, and after checking
in, after the first meal away from home, it begins to hit, we are on vacation!
And a whole new mindset takes over.....
Starting off the next day, the second day of the ride, you begin to look at
things differently. Home is behind you, hundreds of miles away, and any
concerns have been left behind with it. No phone call, no mail, no emails, and
the pressures of life have begun to fade away, as now you can concentrate on the
main thing, your ride. When we park sometimes I marvel while looking at our
bike, this is all we have for the next coming days. Everything we need, and if
we don’t we can pick it up along the way, there are Walmarts everywhere. Our
needs have changed, we get by with what we have, and find out we can do just
fine without the excess. But day two starts us off waking up in an unfamiliar
bed, eating at an unfamiliar diner, fueling up where the gas is cheaper if
heading east, and the ride is on. No checking emails, no phone, in my case to
receive voice mails, it is just us and the road. Our attitude has changed, the
traffic is lighter, people seem to smile more, and the anticipation of lunch
will dwell with us for the next few hours. Road food always seems to taste
better, the diners cleaner, the waitresses nicer and prettier. People use
manners, they talk more when they see us on our bike, and conversations begin
where once others would just wish you would pay your bill and leave. A trip to
the head, and soon you are on the road again, with thoughts of the night’s
lodging and special evening meal waiting. What will the motel be like, will
they have ME TV? Can I watch my bike from the room? Many motels now have bike
bays set up with free soap and water to wash your bike. Seems all your needs are
being addressed, food for the belly, a place to rest your head, and a stable for
your ride. You haven’t done anything really different the second day, but with
the attitude adjustment, the whole world seems brighter, maybe it’s the extra
hour of sleep, maybe the quiet wake up, or maybe just the anticipation of new
places and faces, but day two out to me will always be the day the ride
changes. But really it is me.
I don’t remember the exact date, or even the place where I figured I would
give Jesus a chance. But I do remember the changes in me, suddenly I had
questions, real questions about God, it went deeper than just reading the Bible,
more than praying with others. Waking up the next day, I felt refreshed, more
alive, and somehow freer of what I left behind. If asked what was going on, or
what I was thinking, my answer would honestly be “I’m not sure, I don’t know,
something is changing inside of me.” And I wanted to talk about Jesus, with
anyone. That second day of being saved I was different, I knew it, and somehow
my rides would change. I began to look at things through his eyes, and things
that used to be important, things I worried about, and things that used to
dominate me, didn’t any more. It was the worries of life, the concerns that had
been left behind, and suddenly the ride, the relationship with Jesus was the
main thing, in fact for awhile the only thing. I left behind when heading back
to Jersey the only Christian I knew, and had no one to lead me, but I never felt
abandoned. I felt fresh, looking forward to the next day, even to today, and
where it would lead. Where before I had led a structured life, I now felt free,
and changes in plans, itineraries, and destinations thrilled me rather than
scared me. The day I was saved I had never thought “today is the day I meet
Jesus and get saved,” but waking up the next day, it was waking up with Jesus
and I was saved. It seemed as if life was greeting me, and I was welcoming it.
My mornings changed from “good Lord, it’s morning,” to “good morning Lord!” I
knew nothing, but felt like I knew everything. Time took a vacation, plans
changed, the road now welcomed me instead of scaring me, and I couldn’t wait to
travel. What a difference the second day of my trip with Jesus took, and still
takes today.
In our daily struggles, we fail to address Jesus as we need to. Oh we
think we do, but the mindset of just getting through the day prevails. Get up,
shower, breakfast, do a devotion and pray. Work, come home, dinner, read 15
minutes of Bible as prescribed, and falling asleep, exhausted, knowing I had
kept all my obligations to God. Hoping I could sleep an extra hour, I need the
rest. But my life now in Christ is like the second day of a trip, before I was
saved, the scripture “father forgive them they know not what they do,” I applied
to sinners needing Jesus. Now God has shown me it applies to the saved also,
for we get religious, we do rote prayers, read the Bible to keep up with a
study, and have become religious. We have Jesus, and even access to the spirit,
yet we neglect him. We know him, but we don’t know what we are doing with him.
It is when we meditate on Jesus throughout the day, when we stop worrying about
having to be a witness, when we read the Bible because we want to, when a few
words jump out at us and we put it down and pray, when the spirit is guiding us,
that we truly get to live in freedom in the spirit. So Father, please forgive
me, us, because many times we don’t know what we are doing, just what we are
trained or required to do. Forgive us,so we can forgive others, and get on with
life, abundantly as you call it. Help us to drop the religious requirements
forced upon us, help us to do your thing, not a religious thing. And I hope
like you find, like I do, you begin to enjoy the ride. Priorities are changed,
and what was once required you do because you want to. The road Jesus has
placed you on becomes exciting, and you sleep better, pray more and better, your
Bible time is not based on how much time and verses, but on spending time with
Jesus, as the words jump off the page. That second day with Jesus when you wake
up to the freedom in and of the spirit, changes everything. And I look to
Christ and know that in him I have all I need. And now I desire the ride, where
before it was just another day.
But you cannot get to the second day if you haven’t gotten past the first,
you must be saved. You must come to Jesus. It may not be magical, but you will
know, and I encourage you to seek him. Talk with him, listen to what the spirit
is telling you. Read your Bible, like we ride, one mile at a time, don’t try to
keep up with others, ride your own ride in Christ. The first day is always a
bit scary, but the second day, when the cares of life change, he is with you
still, and always. Father forgive us, for sometimes all we know is what our
church, denomination, or study group teaches us. We don’t know what we do or
what to do. Help us be led by your spirit, to put the past behind, to find the
freedom in you the Bible speaks of. Let the only commandment be to love you and
then others. Excitingly anticipate the second day in Jesus, maybe the most
important day of you new life, and it gets even better, because on third day,
Jesus rose and defeated death. The road only gets better.....when Jesus is on
it.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com