Autobahn - it's not for speed, it is for the spiritual!

Ever since I live in the United States people have been talking to me about my home country - Germany - and they all have expressed a fascination with the interstate system - called Autobahn - that does not have speed limits for the most parts. Obviously, Germany seems to be internationally known or to be 'notorious' for the Autobahn system. Indeed it is a neat way to travel at 110 miles per hour unless you get into traffic jams. And those traffic jams are very frequent in Germany and they can last hours. I have waited in a traffic jam on the Autobahn for over four hours and barely moved forward. However, there is something else the Autobahn should be renowned for beside the absence of speed limits. The Autobahn should be known for its churches! That might surprise you. There is probably more than a dozen Autobahn churches all over Germany. What are they for? When you enter some of the rest areas adjacent to the Autobahn you will notice a blue sign with a church symbol on it. When you follow that sign it will take you to a chapel building. You can get out and go into those buildings and rest for a while from the hurried hustle and bustle outside. These Autobahn chapels have been erected for the specific purpose of offering a place for prayer, meditation, solitude, and serenity. Can you imagine places like that beside American interstate highways? Wouldn't it be nice if you could pull off the interstate at a rest area and go into a chapel and spend some time there alone with God, reading your Bible? I think this would be a blessing because the modern society in the US is constantly moving, toiling, hurrying, overworking, but never resting, never becoming quiet. Modern society is fast-paced, loud, angry, dissatisfied, but only few know the joy of contentment and inner peace that comes through Jesus Christ. If you can't imagine what an Autobahn chapel looks like, please look at this website:
autobahnkirche.info

This website is an actual directory of all Autobahn chapels in Germany. Take a look at them. To be honest, I really miss places like that here in the US. This nation is so materialistic and consumerist that whenever, wherever you stop your car, you are expected to pay for something. If you don't get out and shop, then you are "loitering". I'm not "loitering". I'm resting! I'm reading my Bible! I'm praying. You've got to understand that there is more to this life and more to America than just working and spending. But modern people are totally blinded to the spiritual. Their thinking is totally limited to the confines of working and spending, producing and consuming. That's all they know. They're conditioned to think that whenever someone is dissatisfied, it takes money to satisfy him. You need to spend some money and buy some stupid gadget to make you happy again. That's baloney! If you are dissatisfied and unhappy, I wish you could pull off the busy highway of your life and walk into the Autobahn chapel and pray to God and leave your cares with Him. I wish you could stop your busy schedule for a little while and go for a walk in God's creation. Take a walk somewhere in the woods - away from society and man's creations. That's free! And mostly it will help you. It will make you more soul-conscious and God-conscious. It will teach you that happiness can be found outside of the materialistic race for new and better stuff. The Autobahn chapels were designed to give you a break from all that noisy rat race of the world. Here is another website about those chapels. Take a look:
autobahnkirchen.de

or

http://www.sankt-benedikt.de/

These chapels were designed to be a place of quietness. You know the Bible says: "study to be quiet" in 1. Thess. 4:11. Psalm 46:10 says "Be still and know that I am God." If you can't be still, you simply won't know God. It's that simple. The world wants you to run your mouth all day and to be in a hurry. God wants the very opposite. You can't get ahold of God, if you are running the rat race. Even modern Christianity as depicted on "Christian" TV is nothing but a loud, busy show. They just can't be still. There is a time to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, but many people today much more need to be still. You see you need the balance.
The Autobahn chapels are mostly open all day. Some are closed during the night. But the idea is to provide a place that's always open for private devotion. In the larger chapels services are held on a weekly basis. I'm kind of saddened that so many church buildings in the US are always closed during the week. You can't just go in and have your quiet time with the Lord. You are only supposed to show up when there is a service. Just like a movie theater. Just show up when there's a show. If you come during the day, you're loitering on church property. Isn't that silly? An Autobahn chapel would be open for you. You can come all day and enter in and be quiet and pray and pour your heart out to God. So now I hope you see why the German Autobahn should not only be known for its lack of speed limits. It ought to be known for the opportunities it offers to people to come and seek God. As Christians who are concerned about lost souls we ought think and pray about what we can do to bring the Gospel to the people who are travelling on the interstate system of the US. They can go to a truck stop or to a major brand restaurant chain, but is there any way that we can give them an opportunity to know the Lord?