Over the past month, I have driven to and from Dallas, Austin, and Nashville, and in the coming weeks, I will be driving to and from San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas. I got an oil change less than a month ago, and I already need another one (every 3,000 miles). Throughout my college career, I have taken many road trips to and from the same locations, and I have become so familiar with the routes, that these three, four, or five hour car rides are no problem for me.
Of all the metaphors that I hear about faith, spirituality, and relationships with God, the most common relates all of these to a journey. Some believe the journey started when we entered Sunday School. Others believe that the journey commenced on the day of our baptism. We start out as children of faith, and through teaching and studying we begin to grow and mature. The journey gets boring sometimes.
Have you ever been on your way to work or school, zoned out for a little bit, and thought, "Did I run that stop sign back there?" When we take the same route, do the same thing over and over, it becomes routine, and we go about the task absentmindedly. It sounds dangerous, but it is something that most of us have done. We go through the motions, but our focus is not on the what we are actually doing. On my trips to and from the different destinations listed above, I know all of the towns that I will pass through in order, where the state troopers usually hide, where the good places to eat are, where the exits are, and how long I have remaining in my trip.
The journey through life as a Christian becomes like one of those trips. Christians usually find themselves getting locked into a lifestyle or routine that defines their identity, and it gets boring (common). As a product of a Christian middle school, high school, and university, I have been steeped in Christian living - how Christians are supposed to live - and frankly, some Christians live very boring lives. There seems to be nothing new to spice things up, because we are told that the spicy things are probably sinful. Christians need spontaneous revivals for the same reason that travelers love to take random road trips. It is something new, unique, and exciting.
After my Sophomore year of college, my roommate and I took a road trip from Houston, TX, to Tuscon, AZ, to Tijuana, Mexico (we craved Mexican food for lunch), to San Diego, CA, to Los Angeles, CA, to Phoenix, AZ, to Abilene, TX, and back to Houston. It was quite the drive, but it was exciting because it was something new. I had never driven through the southern portions of New Mexico and Arizona. Even though there was not much to look at, it was still exciting. I had never even been to Arizona or California at all for that matter. The road trip was not a part of my routine. Traffic was terrible in LA, but it was fun, because I had never been in traffic that bad.
For Christians to grow to reach their full potential, we need to do something that is out of the ordinary - take a spiritual road trip. According to Crocodile Dundee, Australians go on walk-abouts for mental and physical rejuvenation. They come back with a renewed outlook on life - a renewed spirit. Christians can do the same thing. Some fast by abstaining from eating, while others go off by themselves for some solitude. These are just two examples, but there are many other things Christians can do to strengthen their faith without getting into trouble.
I feel like we'll enjoy the journey a little bit more if we break away from our routines for a while.
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