I happened to be reading the end of 2 Timothy in the Bible last night, when at some point Paul’s lines of well wishing to folks that he had left in this city or seen in that city, and his instructions to bring his coat he had left in another city melded into my world. My world, which always includes seeing so & so in this or that city, remembering to give items left by so and so to somebody else when I see them again in yet another city and giving regards to this person from another person as we hurry to get south before winter. The names may have changed. I don’t know any Carpus’s in Troas or Erastus’s in Corinth but I do know a Bill and June headed to Texas and a Pat and Mike that just made it to Florida for the winter.
I got to thinking a little more about Paul and some of the other major biblical figures and you know what, none of them appear to have stayed in one place much. Paul seems always to have been on a journey, unless, he was in prison. (For some of us sitting in one place too long kind of equates to prison on some level.) Some estimates say that Jesus spent almost three years of his life on the road. David definitely got around while being chased by King Saul and Moses, well, we all know about his 40 years wondering in the desert. These were all ‘go-to guys’ for the Big Guy and none of these guys were nesters. They all had what I would call ‘nomadic tendencies’. I had a well meaning friend tell me that I needed to rebuke the ‘gypsy spirit’ in my life and that God’s will was that I stay in one place and settle down. Really!? Paul wrote most of the New Testament and I don’t think he ever had what many would consider a ‘real’ home. In fact, I can’t recall any scriptures that say ‘stay in one place your entire life”. I think Jesus said, “GO and make disciples of all men”. The key word of course being “GO”. Genesis says Jehovah told Abraham to ‘hit the road’.
So why is it that people think of us modern day nomads , out roaming the highways and heading south before winter, as odd ducks? I am thinking we are the ones getting it right! Ecclesiastes says “There is nothing new under the sun” and indeed people have been nomadic throughout history. I am convinced that if they had RV’s back in Biblical times that Paul would have been in a motorhome, Moses would have had a Toy Hauler, so he could haul those tablets around and I peg Jesus as a Roadtrek kind of guy. RV dealers back in the day would have made a mint off all the ‘gypsy’ Jehovah lovers. So to my road loving friends I say, don’t be swayed by the nesting naysayers in your life, remember all God’s go-to folks were Nomads too! Keep those wheels turning!
I got to thinking a little more about Paul and some of the other major biblical figures and you know what, none of them appear to have stayed in one place much. Paul seems always to have been on a journey, unless, he was in prison. (For some of us sitting in one place too long kind of equates to prison on some level.) Some estimates say that Jesus spent almost three years of his life on the road. David definitely got around while being chased by King Saul and Moses, well, we all know about his 40 years wondering in the desert. These were all ‘go-to guys’ for the Big Guy and none of these guys were nesters. They all had what I would call ‘nomadic tendencies’. I had a well meaning friend tell me that I needed to rebuke the ‘gypsy spirit’ in my life and that God’s will was that I stay in one place and settle down. Really!? Paul wrote most of the New Testament and I don’t think he ever had what many would consider a ‘real’ home. In fact, I can’t recall any scriptures that say ‘stay in one place your entire life”. I think Jesus said, “GO and make disciples of all men”. The key word of course being “GO”. Genesis says Jehovah told Abraham to ‘hit the road’.
So why is it that people think of us modern day nomads , out roaming the highways and heading south before winter, as odd ducks? I am thinking we are the ones getting it right! Ecclesiastes says “There is nothing new under the sun” and indeed people have been nomadic throughout history. I am convinced that if they had RV’s back in Biblical times that Paul would have been in a motorhome, Moses would have had a Toy Hauler, so he could haul those tablets around and I peg Jesus as a Roadtrek kind of guy. RV dealers back in the day would have made a mint off all the ‘gypsy’ Jehovah lovers. So to my road loving friends I say, don’t be swayed by the nesting naysayers in your life, remember all God’s go-to folks were Nomads too! Keep those wheels turning!