Road Warrior

We’ve all heard the term ‘road warrior’. There was a time when I thought the term was a trite expression meant to make the daily commute more interesting. Since I have been driving these roads for three years now, daily commuting nearly an hour each direction, having spent nearly 1000 hours on this path, my sentiment has changed. Not only do I now deem this phrase valid, but I now count myself among those it describes. I admit it, I am a road warrior. I deftly dance among the hordes, fighting for rank, esteeming efficiency, daily muscling my way through the masses with staunch conviction. Yes, it sounds like a wonderful life, I know. So, what is the problem with being a road warrior? The rest of these people have no idea they’re in a battle!

Now I know what some of you are thinking. “Here is one of those jerks who is always weaving in an out of traffic, the guy who just wants to go faster than everyone else.” It’s not that I want to go faster than everyone else… just faster than these people! Everyone has a measure of ability, a certain prowess. This extends to every aspect of life. In this context, each car and driver combination has a certain comfortable speed, the velocity at which the vehicle runs optimally regarding fuel efficiency, drag, lift, noise and vibration, and at which the driver feels safe. For me, on a major highway, that speed is 85 mph. When I drove my ’85 Dodge Diplomat anything over 70 was a nightmare. By the virtue of who I was (an ’85 Dodge Diplomat) my top speed was predetermined. Each driver knows where he stacks up against the competition and should fall in line with that hierarchy.

There are certain unwritten rules of the road of which everyone is aware. Last night while driving home from class I ran up behind a twenty-something-year-old truck that was running the speed limit in the fast lane while three lanes to his right remained open. Knowing the rules of the road, and having no place to be in a hurry, I refused to go around him, and instead settled in at an uncomfortable distance to maximize the coverage of his mirror with my headlights and minimize the distance between my bumper and his. Even as other vehicles streamed around me I refused to join them lest this man feel justified in his violation. His agitation was clear as he occasionally swerved and unconsciously blocked the mirror with his arm, yet I did not budge, nor did he. Knowing the rules of the road, on some level this man knew to get over. People were streaming around him as a river around a ruined ship run aground; pressure was applied by the force of the river behind him; yet he did not move. Pride can keep us from moving when we face judgment. Pride is the root of all wrong-doing. After ten miles of relentless pursuit he finally put his blinker on. He was not finally moved by my constant pressure, or by recognizing the steady stream of people he was forcing to pass him on the right, or by the innate knowledge of his proper place in the road hierarchy, but instead by his approaching exit. I am convinced that this man had no idea he was in the wrong, that he was breaking the ‘rules’, and that judgment had come.

Though everyone knows these unspoken rules, and everyone knows on some level they have broken them, judgment by itself does little to help them see the error of their ways. What this man needed was a little nudge, someone to reach down and physically move him to the next lane. He could not do it himself. He was, by his pride or ignorance alike, wholly unable to respond and make the situation right. Let the battle cry resound, “Sola Gratia!”

I'll play your game you rogue!

Ched is wise. Now that this semester is in full swing and our weekends are largely devoted to study, this little bit of nonsense is a welcomed distraction.

Here is how you partake in a round of Literary Lucky-Dipping:

1) Skillfully grab the book closest to you

2) Quickly open to page 123, go down to the fourth sentence

3) Post the text of the following three sentences

4) Name the author and book title

5) Tag an indefinite number of people to do the same (so, it could be '0')

"Although important distinctions do exist between Israel and the church, the New Testament clearly teaches that the church is neither a secondary nor a preliminary program, but the crowning product of all God's activity in history. Older dispensationalists such as Charles Ryrie indicate that the goal of history is not the church, but the millennium. During that era God will fulfill the divine promises to the nation Israel."

The Millennial Maze: Sorting out Evangelical Options by Stanley J. Greenz.

As for tagging others, I fear the buck stops here. I have no other friends that post.

A point of caution regarding the text above. This book sorts out the different eschatalogical views. This view is advocating Dispensationalism, and not having yet read the book, I cannot comment as to its validity as a reasonable theological system.