Jungle Checkpoint
Theme of the Week: The Reason Behind the Rules
Mark Rutland
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: "You must obey all the commands of the Lord your God, following his instructions in every detail" ( Deuteronomy 5:32 ). Bonus Reading: 1 Samuel 10:8; 13:4b-14
I took a man in his 20s on a mission trip to Puerto Bermudez in Peru's Amazon jungle. Getting there from Lima by rented car and then ancient bus would take more than 25 cold, tedious hours. I knew we'd arrive at a lonely jungle army garrison at about three A.M. "Put your passport in your shirt pocket," I told my companion. "Keep it there, and put everything else in your suitcase."
When we arrived at the checkpoint, the passengers were nervous and irritable. People were being killed every day in Peru. There's nothing more nerve-racking than 15 or so nervous, tired soldiers manning a jungle outpost before dawn. As we jolted to a stop, I awakened my young friend. "Come on," I said, "Get out of the bus." Everyone shuffled into line in front of a captain seated at a desk. Sleepy soldiers guarded the line with machine guns.
The captain began checking and stamping travel documents. "What are they doing?" asked the young man.
"Stamping our passports. Get yours out," I said.
"Passport?" he asked, alarmed. "It's in my suitcase."
"The one tied on the top of the bus?" I demanded.
"Yes," he whined. [continued 5/3]
—Mark Rutland in Character Matters
My Response: A time when I thought I knew better than my authority was …
Thought to Apply: The ship that will not obey the helm will have to obey the rocks.—ENGLISH PROVERB
Adapted from Character Matters (Charisma, 2003) by permission.
Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
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