There have been few visits on our 60 Days Walking journey
that we did not find ourselves wrongly introduced as “the men that are walking
across Central America”. This
misconception has led to a number of laughs as we admit that the title of our
trip does not hinder us from using buses and hitchhikes to get around. The name ’60 Days Walking’ was coined to
inspire others that following Jesus is a lifestyle that can be lived out in the
day to day and not just a moral improvement group that meets once a week. We have been invited by God to experience the
world in passion, power and love; to see from a perspective that looks beyond
the superficial values that so commonly distract us from true depth and beauty. This is the life that Jesus displayed, and
the same that he so graciously invited us to partake in.
Standing in a circle of strangers and being introduced as
men that have walked from El Salvador to Nicaragua is quite the impressive
misconception to unravel and explain, but it has given us many opportunities to
highlight the lifestyle that we are all invited to live out. It begins with a changing of our minds to see
others in the same light and beauty that God sees them. His love is contagious and radical, willing
to go against the currents of life and socially erected ideas of how the world
is meant to operate so that everyone’s true purpose and identity can be clearly
seen. This lifestyle expresses itself in
love, encouragement, and the giving of one’s self that others may be touched
and benefitted. It is not conducted by
selfish motives of “I’ll play my part, if you play yours,” this lifestyle gives
for the sake of giving and is not dependent upon the positive responses of its
receivers.
Love plays its cards first, and the world follows suit. When love shows its face, the outcome is
comparable to that of a lighthouse to a ship in a midnight storm: as a beacon
of hope, and a light to be pursued and followed! The process is a natural one:
we see how radically we have been loved and then show off this same love to the
people around us (in other words, God’s love is contagious). As God gave, you give. As Jesus lived selflessly, you do
likewise. If our Father is truly God,
then love ought to run just as naturally through our own veins as it does our
Daddy – we were created in His image!
Misconceptions about how we conduct our travels are
irrelevant. The beauty of this journey
is that it does not end when the three of us fly home on March 6th and it is not limited to those that are
willing to backpack and live from hostel to hostel in third world conditions –
this lifestyle is an open invitation to all that desire it. When your life has been set ablaze by the
love of your Father, you will live to see this same fire grab the hearts of
everyone you meet.
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