A Royal Enfield 350 Bullet has become an unlikely shrine. The motorbike’s rider fatally crashed into a tree. Now both bike and tree form a thriving shrine in the Indian village of Chotila. Visitors pray to the bike, pour libations of alcohol, and tie red thread round the tree – all in the belief that doing so will ensure them a safe journey.
My first thought? It makes no sense to choose a bike someone died on as a talisman against unsafe travel.
But then I thought about the cross:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1 v 18)
Both the bike and the cross were instruments of death. But we can look at the cross with certainty and hope – Jesus has beaten death, and is the source of life for all who trust in Him. I won’t be praying to any motorbikes. But I will be thanking God for the cross.
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