From Rich Dixon:

At the FREEDOM TOUR we talk about sacrifice.

Cyclists invest hundreds of hours and miles to train and prepare for a sweaty, sleep-deprived mission trip. The support team organizes and lugs gear, rises early and stays up late, prepares meals, and cares for everyone along the road. It’s a labor of love and sacrifice in support of kids rescued from human trafficking.

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When I think about sacrifice, I’m reminded of one of the first sermons I remember as a new believer. The pastor encouraged us to have the same mind as Jesus.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

I remember my first attempt at wrapping my head around the idea that Jesus became fully human…while still being fully God. I thought everyone around me already had this all figured out.

I’m not a theology guy, but forty years later I know no one has The Trinity “figured out.” I do know Jesus made a sacrifice beyond anything I can comprehend when He “…did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant…”

That’s the mind of Jesus.

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Riding bikes over mountain passes certainly isn’t equivalent to Jesus’ sacrifice. That’s not the point, because it’s not a competition.

Jesus chose empathy. He sacrificed privilege, made Himself nothing, stepped into our shoes. We’re asked to have the same mind, the mind of Jesus.

On the FREEDOM TOUR, we sacrifice a small bit of comfort to love our neighbors and try to step into the shoes of our kids.

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Of course, this really isn’t about riding bikes.