The Road of Life
If there is one thing that truly unites all bikers it's their true love of the road. Whether that road is a 6 lane interstate, or whether it's a trail they are blazing themselves through the Sahara, those that are on two wheels all understand the call of the road. Perhaps one of the things that draws us to the road is how it helps us navigate our own lives, the clarity of mind that can only be found on the road, the therapy to the soul that is found when the wind hits our face. Is it that we find the roads that we ride on to be so similar to the roads we call our lives, is it that in putting ourselves onto a physical road we are able to get insight in to the Spiritual roads that make up our entire existence? I propose that it does, and that it's that parallel that creates the very passion we all share. The road calls to our very souls, pulling us back out into the wild, finding news paths, new directions, new friends. The road calls to us to find out more about ourselves.
The Bible uses parables all the time. Parables were Jesus's favorite teaching tool in fact. I invite you to come with us as we travel down Roman's Road and see what God has to say to us through His written word.
Every trip has a beginning, a start, perhaps it's your garage, perhaps it's a local bar, where ever you start your trip though, it's the same for us all, make sure you have enough gas to get where you are going, make sure the bike will get you there, and to make sure you know where you are going. It's that last part there that I want to pause on for a second; for you see the Bible tells us that there are two ways to go, one of life and one of death, but a great difference between the two ways. In life so many of us get into the habit of just making sure we are moving through life full throttle, but we never bother to check our maps to see where we are going.
To understand what the way of death means first we need to come to a common understanding of who we all are. Scripture tells us that "We are all sinners (Rom. 3:10,23)." Now to many "sin" is a long list of "thou shalt not's" but what would you say if I told you that is missing the point of "sin" all together? The easiest was to explain sin is to use archery. Everyone knows what a bulls eye is in archery, it's a perfect shot, right in the middle of the target. So what you call every other shot in archery, anything not in the bulls eye? Well it's called SIN. That's right, anything that isn't perfect is called sin. Look at yourself, your bike, the road you are on, is it perfect? Is everything going exactly as it's supposed to in every way? Of course not. Now in the original garden, when it was just Adam and Eve walking around naked hanging out with God everything was perfect, but as soon as they decided they wanted to try things their own way, and not listen to God's instruction, well, sin entered the picture as well as the big D word, Death.
You see the Bible tells us that: "The wages of our sins is death (Rom. 6:23)" The sad fact of being a biker is that we have all known the brother who didn't have the perfect ride. The brakes weren't fast enough, the corner was too sharp, the other driver didn't see them, we have all had to stand there and lower friends into the ground and say a final good bye due to our choices. The same goes with every living thing on earth, as soon as life begins, the countdown clock begins to when that life will end. The question isn't really if you will eventually die though, it's what happens on the other side. What happens when this ride is over, where do we get off?
Have you ever gone on a run to get to the end and find out you don't have enough cash on you to pay the entry fee? I've done this before, and you then have to go find a close ATM or stand there and bum money from your friends. Well there will come a day that the ride of life will come to an end for you, and you will stand in front of your Creator and He will judge you, asking you for the admission fee to Heaven. Well the fee is pretty simple, it's one perfect life, one life that you never sinned, not once, not a lustful thought, not a single lie, not a single sin. Well in all of creation there has only ever been one person who lived such a life, and his name was Jesus. Jesus is called the Son of God, but He is also God manifest in human form. The reason God came to Earth and lived as Jesus was to pay our entry fee into heaven, "Jesus paid our sin debt on the cross (Rom. 5:8). " After He died on the cross He went to hell for your and my sins. He suffered the punishment for our sins so that we wouldn't have to, so that when we get to the end of our road we have the entry ticket to get into Heaven.
Now this "ticket," for lack of a better word, can only be obtained in prepay form. You can't get to the gates of Heaven and decide to buy the ticket, if you don't have one when you get there you can't get in. So how does one obtain this ticket? Well the bible says "Salvation comes by faith, that is, by confessing with our mouths and believing in our hearts (Rom. 10:9,10). " and "Call on the Lord for salvation and get saved (Rom. 10:13). " Yes, buying the ticket is that simple, it's saying out loud, that Jesus is God, and that you want to make Jesus the Lord over your life. What does that mean though? Well to put it simply it means you used to ride the life road going your own route, and now you are going to use the Jesus GPS (more commonly referred to as the Bible). And that you are going to slide out of the front seat on your bike and ride on the back and let Jesus take the handlebars. Honestly that is probably the single hardest thing to do in life, and what keeps most people from becoming a Christian. It's scary to let go of the handlebars, to trust someone else with your life, it goes against everything we think we are supposed to be, and well for many of us we get afraid of where He will take us. But those things in your heart, those things that make you feel alive and closer to God, well those were put there by Him and He wants to see them develop and mature. Sure, right now you may have a twisted version of what God desires for your life, but the core of who you are, that was made by God, and He wants to see a "perfect' version of you.
Now there are some misconceptions on this ticket though. Go into the next gas station you come to and rip a $20 in half and try to get $10 of gas for it. Did it work? Go to the next rodeo and rip your ticket into 4 sections and hand them out to 4 friends, did you all get in on that ticket? Did anyone? Buy a ticket for this years 50/50 raffle and wait a few years to try to claim in on it? Did it work? Of course not. But so often we want to say we went to Sunday School as a kid, or that yeah, we believe in Jesus so we are good to go. The fact is that Satan and every demon that exist goes to Church every Sunday and believes that Jesus is God, in fact once upon a time they lived in Heaven with Him. They not only believe, they know that Jesus is God. The Bible tells us "To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life" (Rom. 2:7). Also "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live" (Rom. 8:13). So what does this mean? It means that knowing the Jesus is God isn't enough. Having Jesus as your Copilot isn't enough. Going to Church isn't enough. The only way to end this road, to enter Heaven at the end , is to slide over and let Jesus take control of your entire life. To live a life where the Bible is in the GPS, where you are moving closer to the path that Jesus has called you to. That if you say you believe in Jesus, but continue to live the life you always have, that you are lying to yourself, and will find that when you get to the gates, you don't have the ticket you need. Buying this ticket is very much a lifelong commitment, some days will be harder than others, and some seasons will pass by like the wind, but it's not a once and done thing. Choosing to ride this road is a path that you have to keep continuing to choose. It's a road that many walk away from, giving up their ticket as the price seems too high, but the price for not having it at the end is eternally worse. Some fool themselves into thinking they are on the road, when they are in fact on a road of their own making, not listening to call of God at all. It's our prayer that this webpage has brought you a little closer to understanding what we mean when we say we are Christians, and what we mean when we say we want you to become one too. It is our prayer here, that when you come to the end of your road that you will continue your ride with us on the perfect ride on the perfect road on that perfect day.
