Jump in the back … or the cab?

When I lived in Hawaii, one thing that surprised me was seeing people ride in the bed of pick-up trucks.

Most states have outlawed allowing human beings riding in the back of trucks, citing the danger involved. But it’s still legal for people to jump into the back of a pick-up in Hawaii. Due to the high cost of living there, it’s more cost effective for a family to load up in a pick-up truck and “go beach” than trying to squeeze a family into a car.

As a kid, I remember several occasions riding in the back of a truck. It was a lot of fun for short trips, but I remember how uncomfortable it was on a long trip. Sitting on a metal bed helped you feel every bump in the road! Being in the bed of the truck was a very different experience — and ride — than sitting in the cab of the truck.

How we walk through life is kind of like riding in a truck. When we try life on our terms, without faith in Christ, it’s more like riding in the back of a pick-up truck … you feel every bump in life’s road quite harshly! But when we walk through life exercising our faith in Jesus Christ, it’s much more like journeying through this world in the cab of a truck … while the road may sometimes be rough, it’s cushioned by faith.

Jesus described our journey in this life in these words, as recorded in John 16:33, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

There is no escaping the fact that life comes with difficulties. But Jesus Christ has already overcome everything this world can toss at us, and through Him, we can overcome whatever rocky road we may have to travel.

How are you traveling through life: being pounded by a rough road of self pursuits, or enjoying the ride that comes through faith in the One who has left a perfect path for us?

Scotty