On The Road Again

The TV show ‘The Littlest Hobo’ has got to be one of the longest airing shows on television. I noticed it was on the other day and I remember watching it when I was a kid. I loved it. I hated it. How can you not love a story about a dog, especially a dog that can fix everyone’s problems and catch the bad guys every week! And it is Canadian. But my problem with the show was, and is, that at the end of every episode he leaves the people who have come to love him and heads off down the road! I can remember feeling sad at the end of every episode. I hate that.

I don’t know if we have hobos today as there used to be years ago … traveling the rail lines … sleeping in box cars … but it is a very interesting phenomenon to me - people who just keep moving on, never settling down, never belonging. It really is sad when you think about it isn’t it!

I feel the same way about people who say they believe in Jesus Christ but see no need to be a part of a church family. It could be fear. It could be selfishness. Or it could be that they just don’t feel the need. Whatever the case, it is sad. Not only are they missing out, even though they don’t know it. But the cause of Jesus suffers as well. After all, it isn’t just our need that warrants our involvement. What about the needs of others? It should not be only the consideration of how I can benefit from being actively involved in a church that governs my decision on the matter anyway, but also what benefit I can be to others.

Which begs another question. If we are actively involved in a church family, is it for the right reasons? Are we involved only for what we get from it. Or are we envisioning the difference we can make in the lives of others?

And if you’re one of those people who aren’t involved like you should be, perhaps you need to recognize that there is a spiritual issue here. A rolling stone might not gather any moss, but look out if the stones in your spiritual house start to roll.

There’s a voice that keeps on calling me
Down the road is where I’ll always be
Every stop I make, I’ll make a new friend
Can’t stay for long, just turn around and I’m gone again.
Maybe tomorrow, I’ll want to settle down,
Until tomorrow, I’ll just keep moving on.