Remember the first time you saw Duel, where the Peterbilt tank truck chased
the Plymouth across the desert? I actually saw the truck at a truck show years
ago, better than Disneyland. And no lines. A guy I knew had a B Model Mack
dump truck, what trucks should look like, with a five and a four shifter. What
a joy as I watched him going through the gears, all 20 of them. Watching
logging trucks going faster than sanity allowed, and passing us on curves-on our
motorcycles. The open canopy truck with the butchers bell telling us he was in
the neighborhood. Good Humor trucks, not cars. Route 22 filled with semis on
their way to New York City, creeping down Jugtown Mountain, we didn’t understand
why they went so slow....I remember taking my commercial drivers license test
after delivering to Mesa Verde. In the snow, the instructor telling me if I
could do that, that was test enough, and passed me. And today, the trucks all
bikers must have when their rides need to go to the hospital, aka shop. We all
have one now, and Ford bragging on how 75% of its sales are trucks, is fazing
out all cars except the Mustang. At one time it was cool to drive a truck, now
any soccer mom under the influence of cell phones and kids can drive one. Maybe
a signal of just how far society has really fallen...
But as cool as trucks used to be, there was also a certain stigma attached
to the owners. Farmers, construction workers, and other blue collar types drove
them, they were work trucks, a step down to the flashy car crowd. No one ever
wanted to go the prom in a pickup truck, but offer a limo...and the deal was
sealed. Trucks were rough riding, they worked, sometimes until almost dead,
than thrown away and resurrected again by its next user. Our first truck, a
1949 Ford F-3, a one ton, was used to carry firewood in Colorado. Big 21 leaf
springs on each side. Then a work truck, now a collectible, as cars have gotten
out of reach of the working class, motorcycles still too strange for some to
collect, so trucks it is. With 1948-1955 Chevy trucks going for over $50,000.
Resurrected so the original owner would never know them, too pretty to work, too
rough to drive. So they sit in heated garages, with girly men telling about how
tough they and their trucks are. Just don’t lean against one or you might
scratch it...we have come a long way for when pickups used to be trucks, and all
us kids played with them, in our dreams wanting to drive one someday. While
some dreamt of being president, some of us dreamt of building roads and
highways. Houses and cities. Real men in real trucks...with the kidneys to
prove it.
We are told in scripture that unless God builds the church we labor in
vain. Ever heard that one when they are begging for money for their building
project? Yet so much time, so many meetings, and so much energy is spent
deciding how to grow the church. I know, I have sat through the meetings, and
while some plan, they expect others to do their dirty work. To get out and do
the real work, while they sit back, and watch. And if the plan fails, it is
never their fault. It has been said “Man plans and God laughs,” you all have
your own examples. But I have found that when God plans, we get to laugh, with
joy. His idea of building a church is different, requires no funding, and has
no walls, denominational or other. Raised in a generation where evangelism is
inviting someone to church, we don’t want to mix with the lesser ones, an invite
to church will make some faint, and even asking makes them think they are
evangelists. But I have this strange philosophy, based on the word of God, if
we just do what the spirit asks of us, that is all we need to do. And the
church will grow, and instead of meetings, planning boards, mortgages, and
complaining, we get to see God in action, and be part of it. But like too many
today that think manhood is found in an F150, just looking the part, not being
the part is what counts. What your friends at church think of you more
important than your standing with God. Talking about God, never mentioning
Jesus. Don’t want to upset anyone with the gospel.....
Years ago I was active in a national motorcycle ministry, until I read
their bylaws. Which said I had to tithe to them. Wrong, that’s not giving.
But what opened my eyes was they advised to not have communion, lest you offend
someone. So much for the do this in remembrance of me crowd, and I chose God
over them. You see when man plans God does laugh, but he cries also. When
Jesus wept it wasn’t because Lazarus had died, it was much deeper than that,
they had missed the gospel message of resurrection. Without resurrection you
may as well be a cultist. Only Jesus backed up his words by raising from the
dead! So be careful of how you evangelize, or the club you join. There was a
time when trucks and cars were different and we could tell the difference, today
many Christian reactions are no different than those of an atheist. Is your
Jesus sticker the only way we know you are a Christian? There was a time when
we could tell without being told.
So I keep my religion as simple as my truck, six cylinder, rubber floor
mats, and roll up windows. OK, and auto with air. But I keep my religion
simple and all about Jesus. No substitutes, no pastor or teachers to follow,
living by the spirit and living life to the fullest. Led by the spirit. Living
a life in remembrance of him, and doing it openly. Using words when needed, for
the actions of Christ are remembered long after your memorization of verses
fails. It is not how much you know, but who you know. Can you say you know
Jesus as Lord?
Maybe it is ironic that the closer the Bible gets to the last book,
Revelation, the more it warns of false or fake teachers. Lazy and safe
Christians, an attitude of the Pharisees, and how many will fall away. Having
tasted but never dined on the spirit. With one suggestion about trucks. I
still love cars and motorcycles, but when broken down, who do I call? Who
answers and hauls me to the dealer? Jesus and trucks, they should never change,
but we should. In remembrance of him. What do you remember? And we should
have seen it coming....
love with compassion,
Mike
mattehw25biker.blogspot.com