Time and time again we find Jesus doing things that we either can’t replicate or shouldn’t try to. It’s one of the big questions of the Bible that Christians get wrong time and time again. It’s not always simple to know!
In the gospels, we find Christ travelling (and refusing to travel!) for many reasons:
- He travels to this earth (incarnation)
- He travels to go towards the cross (Mark 10: 32, 33, 38; 11:1, 11, 15, 27; 12:1-12; 14: 48-49; 15; John 2:4; 12:24)
- He travels to reach people who haven’t heard good news
- He travels for religious feasts (Luke 2:46)
- He travels to deliberately controversial places (John 4)
- He travels to escape and rest (Mark 1:35; 3:13; 6:46)
- He sometimes travels to avoid danger, but sometimes into danger (
- He travels to leave this earth (ascension)
And I’m sure we could go on. All of this seems not only very intentional but also, very real and very human. Intentionality doesn’t breed robots or predictable actions all the time. And perhaps that’s often where my heart fails so often – I love to think I know best what other people should be doing with their life, right down to their travels! But I don’t. And I shouldn’t. My intentional decisions need not be yours. But a Christ-centred way of travelling should be.
Which brings me back to the same question: what of this should we copy?
A winding road of Killarney with more greenery than Christ ever saw, I’m guessing! (photo copyright)
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