“We are travelers on a journey, fellow pilgrims on the road.”
Our God promises in Psalm 32:8 that He will instruct us and teach us the way we should go, and that He will counsel us with His eye upon us.
As Christians we are called to reach out to those around us with love and understanding, instruction and counsel. I am thankful for the women in our church who are reaching out to one another and also our community with a new wellness study group. Clearly, spiritual, physical and social fitness benefit the health and growth of both church and community.
This initiative on the part of the ladies has inspired me to invite you to participate with me in improving our health, our spiritual fitness, and our connection with each other.
Will you go on a bicycle ride with me?
Riding a bike is a fun, healthy, green transportation alternative, and wonderful impact-free exercise. The Corps of Engineers is building some great new paved trails here at the lake; we have the beautiful eastern Ozarks and also lots of flat land close by to explore.
“Oh, the places we’ll go.”
Together we can discuss local places of interest but also brainstorm potential opportunities for other adventures, reflecting on historic pilgrimages and famous “spiritual journey” destinations. Some of my clergy friends and I have bicycled together lately. We have gotten some exercise, had good conversation, enjoyed the countryside, and hopefully received some course corrections, some new insight from one another, some way to think and be differently now as a result of our shared experience. It is good to remember while cycling to keep looking forward.
“Stay focused on the horizon, not just the front of the car,” my dad would say. “Then you’ll see everything in between.”
“Fast falls the evening tide.”
We want to be in better shape, of course, but what else can we accomplish? In these divisive times it is crucial that we get to know one another better. Over 20 years ago, my theology professor in seminary, Dr. Molly Marshall, voiced concern over how North Americans are “bunkering,” shutting themselves off from interaction with others, especially others who are different. We need to get out more and hear more from our neighbors. We need to be closer to our fellow citizens, seeking to better understand them as well as the foreigner among us, finding more and better ways we can live peacefully and productively together.
This weekend as we celebrate the Reverend Dr. King’s life and legacy with commemoration and community service, let’s get off the couch, away from the computer, put away our cell phones and do something physically challenging, perhaps with someone we haven’t really known or spent time with before.
Let us explore more deeply our natural world, being more present in our communities and with each other. Focusing on spiritual, physical and social fitness with friends, or alone, is good and essential. We need interaction but we also need solitude. And even then, “…it is the Lord Who goes with you…” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
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Tim Schultz has been pastor of Little Brushy Baptist Church in Wappapello since October 2008. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Central Baptist Theological Seminary and a Master of Church Music degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served churches in his hometown of St. Louis, as well as churches in Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana. He is married to Laura; they have one grown son, Bennett.
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