Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV
Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Luke 13:22 NIV
Summer is the season for travel for many of us. When our 4 children were young, we often went on cross country trips in the summertime. Early on, we homeschooled while traveling. The time in the car – on the road – going to our “destination” was not wasted time. Our children did school work, they listened to music, to “Adventures in Odyssey ” tapes, and later to books on CD. My daughter and I often crocheted, or read books, newspapers, or created things. Our boys would make fantastic configurations out of Legos, played games or slept. Of course, we also looked out the windows, enjoyed the scenery of our beautiful country.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 invites us to talk about our God, how He works, and how we can relate to Him in our everyday lives. Traveling together has given us unique and extended time with our family to engage in these kinds of conversations. Many times, the topic of an “Adventure in Odyssey” tape would spark spiritual conversations among our children, and my husband and I took advantage of these unique teaching opportunities.
Jesus traveled all year round. His ministry was one that took Him all over Galilee, Judea, Samaria and even to Tyre, Sidon and to the area known as the Decapolis. Of course, He traveled to and from Jerusalem several times too. A quick look at the book of Luke reveals that Jesus also took advantage of the unique opportunities travel gave Him. John 4 tells of Jesus stopping to rest awhile on a journey and having a “chance” conversation with a Samaritan woman. This “perhaps unexpected” rest stop resulted in a rich time of teaching for this woman and her village. Luke 8:11 and Luke 13:22 tell us Jesus traveled to many villages and taught there. As He traveled, He often stopped along the way to heal people – a widow’s son (Luke 7:11), 10 men with leprosy (Luke 17:11-19), and a blind beggar (Luke 18:35).
How can you take advantage of your travel time opportunities? Here are a few ideas. Keep a journal while on vacation, and thank God for his creation and the unique time with family and friends. Spend time in prayer while going from one place to the next. Engage in conversations with those around you or with those you meet. Look for opportunities to share the God you know and love with others while you travel.
