Workout for the Week: Are We There Yet?

Memory Verse: Luke 2:15

Meditation Passage: Luke 2:8-20

Key Thought: If God said, “Get up and go,” would you?

Are we there yet? Family travel tests our patience. Snacks, videos, and “I Spy” help, but travel takes a toll. Imagine travel in Mary and Joseph’s day.

Let’s take a quick look at who’s going where in the Christmas story. I’ll compare them to places close to me (Fort Worth, TX) for perspective:

• Mary and Joseph: Nazareth to Bethlehem (about 70 miles). Seventy miles gets me from north Fort Worth, out of the DFW Metroplex, and almost to Waco. No Chip and Joanna in Bethlehem, though I bet the stable looked like a fixer upper.
• Shepherds: They came from nearby fields, but had to search for the right stable. Ever run a 5K? You’re probably close to the amount of ground covered by the shepherds. A 5K covers 3.1 miles. That’s about twelve laps on a track.
• Mary and Joseph: Bethlehem to Jerusalem and back (about 5 miles each way). For me, a five-mile trip gets me from Fort Worth to Keller. Not far, but I wouldn’t want to walk it (carrying an infant).
• Magi: The east (Not sure how far east. Babylon? Persia?) to Jerusalem. This trip could have easily covered 1,000 miles one way. Heading west from Fort Worth, one thousand miles takes me close to San Diego. California.
• Mary and Joseph: Bethlehem/Jerusalem area to Egypt (about 200 miles). Going east, two hundred miles brings me to Shreveport, Louisiana.
• Mary and Joseph: Egypt to Nazareth (well over 300 miles). Heading northeast, three hundred miles gets me to Springfield, Missouri.

Here are your training tips for the week:

1. Check out some maps in a Bible atlas.
2. Pay attention to the terrain as well as the major trade routes. Several mountain ranges run through parts of Israel. Trade routes served as the interstate highways of that time.
3. Try a family 5K this month or mark out several miles. How long does it take to walk one mile? Multiply it out. How long would it take you to make each trip in the Christmas story? Don’t forget. No strollers. You get to carry any children who can’t walk.

Get into the logistics of the Christmas story.

Nail your spiritual workouts this week and change your corner of the gym.

Tweetables:

Imagine travel in Mary and Joseph’s day. Click To Tweet
Tip #1: Check out a Bible atlas. Click To Tweet
Tip #2: Look at terrain and trade routes. Click To Tweet
Tip #3: How long does it take to walk a mile? Multiply it out for each Christmas trip. Click To Tweet
Get into the logistics of the Christmas story. Click To Tweet