I am not sure how they calculated it or why they even did, but someone has calculated how many miles Paul traveled. The calculation from azbible.com calculates it at roughly 10,000 miles. Though that seems like a lot, that is about half as many miles as I put on my car in the first year. Paul traveled his 10,000 miles in a period of roughly 30 years. Agreed, while walking, he was probably doing maybe three miles per hour compared to the upwards of 75 that I am traveling at times. So while I can cover 750 miles in roughly 10 hours, it would take him about a month, figuring he would walk for 10 hours a day. A lot of figuring and calculating to get to something that we don’t really know for sure.
How about during the ministry of Jesus? During the three years, Quora.com says Jesus walked 3,125 miles. I like the exact number that they arrived at, rather than roughly 3,000. I know they calculated distances from one town to another that Jesus walked, how many times He went to a particular place, but couldn’t accurately calculate the steps walked around Jerusalem. But the calculating is somewhat interesting to me, a numbers guy.
So let’s take this calculating a step farther, pardon the pun. If a step is about a yard, more for some less for others, then each mile walked would be approximately 1,760 steps. For Jesus that would mean that He took 5.5 million steps. And Paul well sharing about Jesus would have meant 17.6 million steps. That is a lot of steps. With our smart phones, watches and fit bits, we can now track our steps. I believe 10,000 steps in a day is considered a goal for some, which would make it not quite two years to get to the number of steps that Jesus took, a little longer closer to five years to get to the number that Paul took. It is a simple step by step process to figure it out.
The steps aren’t really important in the lives of Jesus and Paul, but the reason for the steps is. They walked the countryside letting others know of God’s love. They stood among others and shared the sacrifice that was made, or going to be made in Jesus’ case. They cared deeply for those they came in contact with, even though it wasn’t always reciprocated. They had a mission a purpose for the steps that they took as they walked this earth. That is the importance of the steps they took.
So next time you check your steps or put on a pair of shoes, think about where those steps, those shoes will be taking you. To the store, to work, to a game or maybe to the lake. Will you walk with the purpose Paul had? Do your steps follow not so much Paul’s, but those of Jesus. Where ever you step, is the love of Christ seen? It is a high calling, but then again so is being called a follower of Christ, or even more impressive a child of God. Think about that as you walk.
Lacing up my shoes,
Randy