Tyrants of the Road

Many people may think that I started going on mission trips the first time I went to Uganda. That, however, is just not true.

After I graduated high school, I went on a mission trip with some high school kids from Steamboat lead by Aaron Buttery and Lucas Adams to Mexico. It was one of the longest road trips I had been on till that time. I had gone home to Louisiana from Colorado many times though, so that part did not require a lot of extra patience from me.

Being in the car though, for extended periods of time, you eventually get bored. I love music, and really liked country music at the time, so when Jacquie Berdine, now Derisio, let me sit up front with her, and play every single country song I had, for 6+ hours, I felt great! We sang with our tone-deaf voices and did not care how the other kids in the van felt about it. Like Kenny and Dolly, we were true “tyrants of the road.”

Many times, I believe, though it may not always be with bad intentions, we act like how Jacquie and I did that day. We sing our hearts out to whatever song or idol we set before us, without even thinking how our actions will affect others, and even worse, how they rob God of the worship and praise that only He deserves.

I am currently reading The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler in a Bible study at church, and one of the points he made last night really connected with me. I’m paraphrasing here, but he basically said that anytime we try to make morality something we can achieve on our terms, that we will never experience true intimacy with God.

So, anytime we get in the driver’s seat, turn up the radio, turn up the smart-phone, we won’t be able to connect with those in the back of the van and we won’t let God, like Jacquie and I sang that day, “take the wheel.”

Whether we’re walking, driving, hiking, or biking, perhaps it’s time to “step-aside” and as simple as it sounds, surrender by letting “Jesus, take the wheel.”

Until Next Time,

Jacobo