God is my Spinach

Hitch Hiking

 

"No Servant can serve two masters.

Either he will hate the one and love the other,

or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and money."

(Luke 16 vs. 13 and Matthew 6 vs. 24)

 

            In the 1950s, as teenagers, hitchhiking was one of our primary means of transportation. We hitched to the ball field, to the next town, the beach; wherever busses did not go we hitched. When mom would give me a nickel for the bus,  we would stand there with my thumb out hoping to save the nickel to buy candy! There were a lot of fond memories generated by the people met and the rides shared. 

            H. Norman Wright in his book All My Strength writes about hitchhikers. Below are his thoughts:

“But consider the hitchhiker for a moment. He wants a free ride. He has no responsibility at all for the vehicle. He doesn't have to buy a car, pay insurance, upkeep or gas. Have you ever had a hitchhiker who volunteered to pay for gas? Not likely. He wants a free ride, a comfortable ride, a safe ride, and sometimes imposes upon you to take him out of your way. It's as though he expects you to do this for him.  

There are a lot of spiritual hitchhikers today. They know the Lord, but they want a free ride. They want all the benefits of being a Christian but none of the responsibilities or the costs. No accountability, no commitment, no willingness to serve, and if it begins to cost, they bailout. 

    The decision to serve God or serve ONES self is a big one. We can't serve both. We can hitchhike in our faith or we can serve our God. The ride is better with Him. 

Thought for Today: Let us think about the hitchhiker and the driver. The driver is a willing giver. The hitchhiker has a need and thus is a taker. That describes Christians very well and it is OK to be a taker. We do need to decide which we are, which we will be rather than what we want to be. This season let us take a step forward and up. Let us pursue a better ride.