Taking Rides from Strangers

I have a confession: I've started taking rides from strangers.

It started a couple of years ago, when I moved to Kansas City. A couple weekends ago, I didn't think twice about hopping in the ATV of some random guy driving down an access road near Sedona, AZ. There are lots of hiking trails there, with gorgeous red rocks. I was happy to escape there for a weekend, with temperatures twenty degrees cooler than Phoenix and yes, amazing hiking.

The same guy had a cooler strapped in the back and handed out cold bottles of water to weary hikers headed back to parking. I was one of those who had overestimated the difficulty of that particular hike and though I would have made it back to the parking lot just fine, I wasn't about to turn down a ride.

I could offer lots of logical reasons why taking rides from strangers is ok. Most victims of violent crimes know their assailants. I'm willing to bet a guy isn't just driving down the road looking for victims in a well-traveled, busy place. I could be wrong. Many folks would tell me I'm being naive and asking for trouble by accepting a ride from this guy. The same people would probably say the same about taking a bottle of water from the guy.

Truthfully, though, I'm not even worried about the logical reasons. I'm worried about the other side of the Gospel.

For all the talk about hospitality in the Gospels and the whole New Testament, actually, it's mostly on the giving end. But there's a lot of it. Edicts to remember to show hospitality to strangers. Claims that offering food, water and shelter to someone in need is the same as offering them to Jesus. The apostles who stayed in people's homes. The disciples sent out to stay in people's homes. I could go on.

The other side of that, though, is that someone has to be wiling to receive.

And in our independent, take care of yourself culture, that's hard. It's hard to say, "Please, give me some water." Or give me a ride. Or a whole host of other things. For those of us with financial means, we're used to paying for those services and not thinking much of it.

But receiving is part of living into the Gospel, too. Being vulnerable is part of the Gospel, too, especially in the Christian community.

So yeah, I'll accept a ride from a stranger, again. Maybe even some time soon.