HUNTER-GATHERER

This afternoon, I was hanging out with a high school student when I remembered that I was out of fruit. Bananas are my current favorite fruit, and I had eaten my last one at the end of last week, so I decided to bike straight from my meeting over to the place where I buy my produce.

The place where I go is a place called Pedrick Produce, as awesome place for really good fruits, vegetables, and a bunch of other really bomb snacks. It's tucked away in this rundown, corrugated metal quonset hut next to a gas station off of highway 80 in Dixon - it doesn't look like much, but looks are definitely deceiving because the place is off the hinges.

Anyway, my desire to bike to the place sprung from a few factors: my passion for cycling, the nice weather, and the desire to make a difference for the Kingdom of GOD. See, I promised myself that if the price of gas went over $3.00, I would not drive anywhere that I could bike/walk/run to. Even though I'm blessed with a car that gets 30 miles to the gallon, I still felt that by not driving there, I'd be practicing some conservation, and being responible with my skrilla. The book that I'm reading right now, The Irresistible Revolution, is one of those "mess-up-your-life-for-Jesus" kind of books - once you read them you can't go back. One of the biggest ideas that I've chewed through in the book that has resonated with my own personal thought and experience is that following Christ is not just about what we believe (though our beliefs and worldview are absolutely critical and eternally significant), but it's also about how we live. I've known and heard for a long time that following Christ is about acting in response to GOD's amazing love for us, but the truth that that "acting" isn't just meant to be isolated acts of service or goodwill, but a lifestyle and culture of living out daily the care and love of Christ for all things. Hence the ride.

So I set off from Coldstone, a banana-and-heath-bar shake sitting heavy in my gut, and I proceeded to ride out to the stand. The first thing I realized was that the stand was a little further than I thought - those 6 miles seemed to pass a lot faster when I was going 4 times faster in my car. I also realized that it was 90 degrees, I was wearing sandals, I was not wearing a helmet or cycling gloves, and that I was carrying a backpack filled with bananas, oranges, apples, and baby carrots.

I began to question the wisdom of my decision, but as I sweated under the burden of a grip of organic produce I remembered something - following Christ isn't easy. Changing our patterns of behavior, transforming our attitudes and minds, being shaped and refined by the Holy Spirit isn't a process that doesn't come without sacrifice. If I want to manifest the work of GOD in me, I must surrender the comfort of the routines and privelidges of the life I now know for the excitment and joy in living out the call of Christ in all that I do. It's clear that it doesn't come without some sweat, perseverance, patience, and pain. As the patterns of this world that have been worn smoothly into my soul by the forces of this world are torn away and cast down, I've begun to see that beyond embracing and growing in our understanding of the Christian worldview, following Christ is a whole new way to live - the Kingdom of GOD, here and now.

It was a tough ride, but I'll tell you this - I'd never tasted sweeter fruit in my life. How about them apples?