Posted by:  Dr Frank Harber

Author: Steven Gillman

Having hitchhiked many thousands of miles when I was younger, I feel for hitchhikers trying to thumb a ride these days. At least back in my hitchhiking days people still regularly stopped for you. Not so anymore. When my wife and I stop to give someone a ride, we often hear that the poor guy was waiting for a day or two for a ride.

Jesus Christ, for example, waited for two-and-a-half days in Gunnison, Colorado, before my wife said, “He looks okay,” and we pulled over to give him a ride. He was headed for Montana because God had told him that was where he would be needed next. He was hesitant to tell me his name, but then when he did, and he saw that I wasn’t surprised (we have picked up a lot of hitchhikers), he opened right up, and let us know that he was THE Jesus Christ.

In case you run into him, Jesus is about five-foot nine-inches, with neatly combed long hair - a mix of blond and gray, and is sixty-four years old. He is thin, as you might expect after 25 years of being homeless. One eye is slightly larger than the other, the result of an brain aneurysm that burst when he was living on the streets of Tucson six years ago. He carries a walking stick, with the top carved into a fish head, because, as he told me, “All the prophets carry a staff.”

He drinks water from rivers and sleeps wherever he finds himself each night. However, struggling to put his 60-pound rolling suitcase into the van, I realized he still likes a few comforts. His next destination is wherever God sends him. He is very appreciative if you give him a ride, and will reward you with hours of bible verses and assurances that the end times are near - which he seems very happy about. He is even more appreciative if you help him out with lunch money, so he can, as he put it “continue doing my job.”

Hitchhikers - What Else To Expect

Times have changed, and while it is much harder to get a ride now, it is also true that the typical hitchhiker is not the same as he or she used to be. A few weeks before Jesus we picked up a woman who had just discovered that you need to be in a car to visit a state prison. They wouldn’t let her walk in the prison gate to visit her husband, who was there for a few years after having been turned in by her sister and daughter for some unspecified crime. Our ride would take her to town to get a cell phone so she could track down her ride to prison.

A month or two before that we gave a ride to a fifty-five-year-old man who looked sixty-five. He wandered the country, occasionally doing carpentry work, or otherwise asking people like us for a little money to go with the ride. We gave him some food instead. Both he and the other homeless gentleman we picked up a month before him were really nice people.

Homelessness seems to be the norm among those traveling by thumb these days, but it is apparently a lifestyle choice. None of the many homeless people we have picked up hitchhiking seemed to have problems with alcohol or drugs, and they all have been normal mentally (well, unless Jesus wasn’t who he said he was). Universally they seem to be decent people  who express no real interest in getting a job, and are relatively content or resigned to life on the road and in the parks and shelters of various cities. Having never cared much for jobs myself, I can understand.

By the way, if this assessment offends anyone, all I can say is that I am reporting our experience. We do regularly pick up hitchhikers.

Should you stop to give someone a ride? We like to, but I can’t answer that for you. If you do, however,  keep your eyes open. We once pulled over to pick up two guys in their twenties, and as soon as the door was open, their third friend and his large pregnant German Sheppard appeared from the bushes. They were great company, and the dog was well behaved, but after a year on the road, they had accumulated a lot of luggage - which ended up tied to the roof.

We were traveling the country in our Ford Escort, so adding three big guys, a pregnant German Sheppard and a lot of luggage to the car created quite an adventure. The car didn’t want to stop so easily going down those mountain roads in New Mexico and Arizona, and it was riding awfully close to the pavement. Then, after carrying these guys a couple hundred miles, one of them asks for money! Shamelessness pays, I guess.

Posted by:  Dr Frank Harber

Author: Commie Limon

Jesus went up into a mountain and when he was comfortable, he called his disciples to come close to him and then opened his mouth and taught many wise sayings.

Jesus went onto tell his disciples and all who follow after righteousness that they are the actual salt of the earth and the light of the world. He instructed them to let their light shine before men so others could see their good works and this would in turn glorify the father which is in heaven.

Jesus told his disciples to not think he had come to destroy the law or the prophets, but that he had come to fulfill the law, and that all things spoken would be fulfilled. He said anyone who breaks even the least of the commandments, and teach others to do the same shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys the laws and teaches others the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees or else we will not enter into the kingdom of heaven either. Jesus said don’t even be angry at your brother without a cause or else you will be in danger of the judgment and whoever calls a brother “Raca” will be in danger of the council, but whoever calls his brother “thou fool” will be in danger of hell fire. Jesus said this is equal to the breaking of the law of “thou shall not kill.”

With these teachings one has only to conclude it must be very, very awful in the eyes of Jesus and God to speak cruelly or to treat others as if they are stupid. This is surely at the core of all righteousness – how we treat each other.

Jesus taught if you have a disagreement or ought against your brother, you should first be reconciled. In other words, make amends with the person, become on friendly terms once again. The next step is to take that person a gift of some sort. I believe if we follow this rule, we will find a bit of extra favor with the Lord and be able to live more at peace with others.

Jesus also taught to just agree quickly with someone you are in argument or disagreement with while you are still halfway on speaking terms or things may get worse for you.

He taught many other simple daily rules to live at peace with other people. Jesus says it is better that our communication sometimes be just yes, yes, and no, no, because much more than this is surely to get blown out of proportion and become evil. He taught if someone smacks you on one cheek, rather than to slap that person back, just turn the other side of your face as if to say, it is more important that I keep the commandments of God in that I do harm to no one even if I have to take another slap on the other cheek. Now this is getting fairly difficult to comprehend. How close is being truly righteous? Not many people could live such a life as this and would twist the words around to say, but ah, this does not apply to us in this day and time. I believe these words have purpose for us. The majority of us will probably never face such a thing, but if we are put to the test, would we be able to pass? Of course, no one is expected to stand and take continual abuse. In a situation such as this, it is better to flee from the evil of abuse. Jesus tells us that two wrongs do not make things better.

I believe the main purpose of all these teachings of Jesus is to tell us to be good to each other and that most of our righteousness depends upon just how well we treat other people. Jesus went into great detail using many examples to tell us this one simple lesson he so desired from us. Be good to one another. We are commanded to move toward perfection in our quest for salvation even as the father who is in heaven is perfect, and if we love only those who love us, or salute only those who salute us, what real thanks have we, or how are we different from the publicans. The publicans love their own and those who love them only. To be different and set apart means to love our enemies, to bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate us and pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us so that we may be the children of our Father which is in heaven because he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. He makes no respect in persons, good or evil.