Now What?

By now most of you probably already know that my 6 month road trip has come to an end. It was everything I expected and nothing like I expected all at the same time. Before day 1 my plans began to change or to be more accurate I should say “Were changed for me”. I left one week later than planned for a number of different reasons, Weather that hit on day number 2 changed the direction I was riding not only that but it literally corralled me into a very specific direction. Yet even in all of that I had a strange peace knowing that my God was in control of it all. You see God is why I chose to go for a ride. Ok, in an effort of full disclosure God said “Get alone with me for awhile” I’m the one that chose the road trip. Yes he could have spoken to me anywhere, in a coffee shop, locked in my room, a cabin in the country, wherever. I chose to leave so I could avoid distraction and because I’ve always wanted to do this. What’s cool is God loves me. He knew what I would choose he blessed it, and worked in it. If you can’t tell already I am about to talk about this trip and what the next step is. If you’ve been following this blog long you will see that it has become a weekly lesson of sorts those lessons come from what God had been speaking to me about during the week. I’m not completely sure because I haven’t done it yet myself but I bet if you were to go back to the beginning and read up through now you would stumble on a theme. I know that once I look at all God has shown me (Some I’ve shared some will stay between God and I) I see a clear theme for the trip and that began even before I hopped on the bike as well. I’ll begin with a painting. You see, I called up a local Artist (Bill Butler) and asked him to do a painting for me. I wanted something in front of me that would remind me of why I was on this trip. I wanted him for a number of reasons but primarily because he is a “Prophetic Artist”. We chatted for awhile he went to prayer and came up with a Painting called “Great Love” John 15: 12-13 I’ve quoted this verse a number of times over the last 6 months and he couldn’t have chosen a better verse. I could even call this tour of mine the “Great Love Tour” because that is what God revealed over and over and over again. He loves me so much that he gave me this trip. He loves us enough that he gave us this universe, he gave us his son, he gave us freedom, he gave us a choice.

I’m the kind of guy that loves to boil things down to it’s most basic principle. Once you get rid of all the fluff what are you left with? With Christianity however I’ve allowed myself to get all caught up in the theories, debates. I have to admit I even enjoy these types of discussions. I really enjoy chatting Denominational differences. But what we have to do before we ever get bogged down with this type of discussion is understand the basis of everything. Who is God to us? Who are we to God? This is what God showed me. This is what he emphasized in my studies, in who I met, where I went to church, on hikes, while riding my bike, in that painting I told you about. You see my lesson wasn’t a new revelation. You’ll hear it and say “I knew that” but this time God gave me the opportunity to see what that really means. This is called the “Great Love” tour because that’s exactly who God is. 1 John 4:6… God is Love. That is the basics of Christianity right there. God is love and everything he does is “LOVE” God sent Jesus to die for us because he is LOVE, the Spirit has been sent as a helper because God is LOVE, God created this mighty Universe for us to enjoy because God is LOVE. That is exactly what he has shown me in its most basic form. First he showed me how much he loves me. The trip he gave me modeled his Love, His provisions, The Support Group he Gave, The Bike, Our Conversations, God made it abundantly clear that he loves me (Again you can go to my past posts and find specific examples) Next God showed me that he loves all his children. I sat in a town that you couldn’t walk through and not experience the spiritual oppression yet there was a church in the middle of this town that acted like a Sanctuary from the oppression. He gave his children a special grace and gave them a location for regeneration. In the midst of that Oppression I saw how much God loves EVERYONE even those who have nothing to do with him. There was a spiritual warfare and this means God was fighting for them. He is fighting for you. I saw many more very specific examples that I once again mention in past posts.

Then God takes me to scripture and there is not one Apostle not one book in the New Testament that doesn’t hit on LOVE as a major point in the Christian life. You see God loves us so much that yes he sent his only son for us. He loves us so much that he spelled his plan out for us to see in The Old Testament. He didn’t want us to miss it. He loved us so much that even though we didn’t ask for forgiveness he had Jesus die to offer it that way we just had to grab it. He loves us so much that as soon as we turn to him and accept his forgiveness we become a member of his family. Now here’s the catch and the next thing God showed me so clearly. Once we become a member of his family Sons and daughters of God. WE BECOME LOVE! That’s right if God is Love and we are his it only makes sense that we are love. Since we are Love God wants us to act like it. He sent his son to this earth to be love on Earth. He was! Now we are his children on this Earth so we must be Love on Earth. What does that mean? “Love your neighbor as yourself” Your car is broken down and your neighbor has a spare. You would want your neighbor to offer the spare until it’s fixed. time to offer yours to him. Do you enjoy random people giving you money for no reason? Try doing that as well. John 15: 12,13 “A new command I give you Love as I have loved you. No greater love has man than this that he lay down his life for his friends you are my friends if you do as I command you.” In other words treat your brothers and sisters in Christ better than you would yourself. Sacrifice for them. “SACRIFICE FOR THEM”

This is the Gospel in its most basic form. 1. God is love, 2. We are adopted into his family, 3. We are love, 4. Be Love and don’t forget he sent help in the form of The Holy Spirit USE IT!!! This is the main lesson God has shown me over the past 6 months. He is love, we are love, we need to begin acting like it. Sit down for a few minutes and think about what that truly means. What are we really called too.

Now that I’ve told you all of that, the biggest question I’ve been asked is “What’s next?” or “What do you do now?” I honestly don’t know exactly. I have some idea’s that I’m going to walk towards and see what God blesses. The one thing I do know is this. If I walk away from this trip with the lessons that God has shown me and I don’t move toward Love then this past year would have been a waste of time. I plan on waking up in the morning and asking “God who do you have for me to love today?” Then I’m going to walk my day looking for his answer. Once I find it I’ll ask “God how do you want me to love them?” Then I’ll do it! Will I do it every time? Probably not. Will I miss some opportunities? Most likely. But it’s my goal to try. It’s my goal to each and everyday become love. I want to invite you to come along on this Journey of Love. Ya never know if you do your life may just be turned “Upside Down”