A few weeks ago, my wife and I were able to unexpectedly break away for a mini-vacation.  We only had a few days, so our options were limited.  We decided to head north and visit/revisit some popular locations in Northern Michigan.

While attempting to pull out of a convenience store north of the five-mile-long Mackinac Bridge, we were forced to wait significantly longer than anticipated.  We had the unfortunate timing of attempting to resume our journey while a convoy of over 400 motorcycles rolled past us.  (Over 400!) 

Consider that number for a moment, and the amount of time it would take for them all to pass by on a two-lane highway.  And that didn’t include their multiple support vehicles which chugged along behind them with four-way flashers on.  I was told by a gas station clerk further up the way that the actual number was about 440 bikes.

She also filled me in on why they were there.  It was a ride organized by the “American Legion Riders” to promote veteran PTSD awareness among the general public.

The primary organizer was Scott Igo, who is the Director of the American Legion Riders at Post 3 in Sault Ste. Marie.  Scott is a navy veteran himself, having served for five years on board the Aircraft Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln from 1993 to 1998.  He also deals with post-traumatic stress himself.

A number of other organizations, companies and individuals recognized it as a worthy cause to support and added their resources to facilitate the event.

The riders’ route?  From Hell to Paradise.

And yes, there is indeed an official community in Michigan named “Hell.”  There is also a Paradise, Michigan.  (In case you’re curious, neither place quite lives up to its name.) 

The reasoning for the origin and terminus?  Scott Igo explains: “When a person is battling PTSD you feel as if you are in your own personal hell.  Each individual that is fighting is looking for that place they feel safe.  A paradise of sort.”

The unincorporated community of Hell is located about 15 miles northwest of Ann Arbor in the “Lower Peninsula” of the state.  There are multiple suggestions on how the place came by its startling name in 1841, but no one knows for certain.  Paradise is also an unincorporated community on the northeastern portion of Michigan’s “Upper Peninsula,” situated on the western side of Lake Superior’s Whitefish Bay.

342 miles separate the two communities.  Well over 400 bikers made the trip, beginning in Hell and arriving eventually at Paradise.

If only it were that easy!  Jump on a bike, point it north, rev it up and ride out of hell and into salvation.

And yet, because of the sacrifice of Jesus and through the work of the Holy Spirit, it is!

What does the Lord tell us in the Scriptures?  “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned …” (John 3:16-18a).

Jesus himself said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). 

That’s the route from damnation to salvation; from hell to heaven; from doom to a reservation in a room in God’s home – hear God’s truth and believe God’s truth that Jesus, the Son of God, has saved you.  When the Lord brings this about, a person’s spiritual itinerary has been rerouted!  Hell is in the rear-view mirror and Paradise fills the view!

Both Hells are real places.  The eternal hell is indescribably worse than the earthly one.  Both Paradises are real too.  The forever one is unimaginably better than Upper Peninsula one. 

Thanks to the 400-plus bikers who made that journey for PTSD awareness a few weeks ago.  But greater thanks to the gracious God who put us on the spiritual route from hell to paradise.  The spiritual ride is often temporarily rough, but the destination is forever wonderful and worth it!