Bobbie, a collie dog, lived with the Brazier family in Silverton, Oregon, which was a small city near the Pacific Coast. The family decided to take a car trip across the U.S.A. in a Studebaker Touring Car. They loaded up the car, tying down some luggage between the trunk of the car and the back bumper. There was no room inside the car for their dog. That was no problem for Bobbie. He jumped on the top of the luggage and was ready to make the long trip. Back in the 1920s, the roads were not always paved and often the ride was bumpy, but Bobbie never bounced off his perch. Through foul weather and fair, the dog kept his balance. Day after day they traveled by wide rivers, over mountain passes that seemed to touch the sky, and then across the Great Plains in the blazing heat of late summer.
After travelling like this for 2,500 miles, the Braziers stopped to get gas and a bite to eat in a small Indiana town. It was their custom to let Bobbie run and get some exercise during short stops. As they were entering a restaurant, they saw a pack of local dogs chase Bobbie down the road. They weren’t worried about Bobbie, because he was an excellent runner. They just figured he would return to the car after the chase was over. However, Bobbie didn’t return. The Braziers searched for him for three days. Heartbroken, they continued without their dog.
A few weeks later on their return trip, they stopped in the same town where Bobbie had been lost and inquired about the dog. Unfortunately, no one was able to provide any information about their pet. They made the long trip home to Silverton without Bobbie.
The family gave up hope of ever seeing their dog again. One day, eleven-year-old Nova Brazier was walking down a muddy city street in Silverton when the girl saw a half-starved, weather-beaten dog walking with its head hung low. The dog looked more dead than alive. To her astonishment, something about the dog reminded her of Bobbie. When she called the dog’s name, it feebly trotted up to her with its stump of a tail wagging. The dog’s hair was matted and dirty, and he was nothing but skin and bones, but by the markings on its face she knew it was Bobbie.
Somehow the dog had managed to walk close to 2,500 miles from Indiana to Oregon. Bobbie became known as “Bobbie, the Wonder Dog,” and his remarkable story was carried in newspapers across the country. People speculated that Bobbie had backtracked along the same route the car had taken when it had traveled east. Various people who lived along the route sent in reports that they had fed and sheltered a dog for a night that had matched Bobbie’s description. A few hobos said they had shared some stew with him. Many people guessed that Bobbie hunted mice and small game on his journey home.
If Bobbie’s story is true, it might be the greatest journey a dog ever made. But if you choose not to believe it, I can understand why. I’m not certain I believe it either. I think it’s beyond the ability of any dog to make such an epic journey.
But Bobbie’s story reminds me of another story of a Man’s truly epic and wonderful journey. Although on this journey He did things that are naturally impossible for men to do, I believe the account of it with all my heart and hope you will too.
The journey this Man made began with His birth into the world. The boy had no natural father. Do you believe that possible? I do because it was prophesied hundreds of years earlier. “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:1414Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)). His birth was just the beginning of His remarkable journey through life.
His parents called Him Jesus, and He spent His youth in a small town called Nazareth in the backcountry of Israel. When He turned thirty years old, He started preaching, and His words astonished the world. They were full of life and truth, and they made His listeners feel the depths of God’s love in their hearts. The Lord Jesus also did many miracles to relieve the suffering and needy. “The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matthew 11:55The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. (Matthew 11:5)). These miracles showed who He was. It takes supernatural power to perform miracles — power that comes directly from God and surpasses man’s natural ability. Do you believe He performed such miracles? I do. They might be impossible for men, but they are not to God.
After three and a half years of ministering to others, He was taken by cruel men, given a sham trial, and crucified. Nailed to the cross, it seemed like His journey had come to an abrupt end. But His story wasn’t finished: He was laid in a grave and three days later He came back to life. He was seen of many disciples, and on one occasion He ate fish and bits of honeycomb with them. One of His disciples, named Thomas, had the chance to put his finger into the spear wound in Jesus’ side.
Do you believe in the resurrection? I do. It shows, like nothing else could, the honor, love and high esteem that God the Father had for His beloved Son. The men and women who saw the Lord Jesus after His resurrection had nothing to gain by lying about it. In fact, telling the truth would cost many of them their lives.
In the last part of His journey, He was lifted up from this earth in a cloud and carried into heaven. In heaven, He took His seat on the right hand of God, His name being made higher than any other name in heaven or earth.
I think you would agree with me that the Lord Jesus made the most incredible journey through life that was ever made.
Now, whether or not you believe that Bobbie walked 2,500 miles to return home won’t make any lasting difference in your life. However, whether or not you believe in the journey the Lord Jesus made makes a tremendous difference. The salvation of every human being hangs on whether they believe it. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:88For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8)). Faith in Christ matters a great deal. It matters, because without faith in Christ, people who pass out of this world will enter into a lost eternity. “I said therefore unto you that ... if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:2424I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (John 8:24)).
Will you believe the record that God gave of His Son that you might be saved? I believe it, and I hope you do too.
My Citizenship will show you how to take a journey to the best homeland possible.