When I was around 30 years old I took a bike ride while on vacation in Myrtle Beach. Turning out of the rental property, I rode about 15 miles down the coast. It was a beautiful day and the environment, scenery and traffic encouraged me to take a rather aggressive pace. I felt invigorated and alive as I rode at close to the speed of traffic, and so I went a bit further than I intended; but I was young and strong — I rode often, and played sand volleyball for hours in the hot sun, so no problem.
But, I made a critical mistake. It never occurred to me to notice which way the wind was blowing, and when I turned around to ride back, I instantly discovered about a 25 mile an hour headwind. Man, O man was that a looonnng ride back! Gone was the joy that I felt while the wind was at my back. Now, with head down, crouched as low over the handlebars as I could, I sought to present as low a wind profile as possible as I labored back. A 15 mile downwind ride that had taken a little more than 30 minutes, took well over an hour to return. What is the moral of the story that I learned? Always ride into the wind first, and enjoy the tale wind on the way home. When I finally arrived back at our rental place I was exhausted.
The last couple of weeks while Lauri and I were on vacation in Florida we rode our bikes quite a bit. The day we spent on Anna Maria Island there was a blustery 30+ mile an hour wind whipping down the island. Lauri and I began our ride with the wind at our back… yep, at our back. I know what you are thinking. So, you really didn’t learn anything at all from the suffering of that Myrtle Beach ride. Now, I am not in the best bike riding shape… I am a few decades older… the wind was even stronger, and the ride back up the island was going to be brutal. Maybe even put me in the hospital, right? Wrong. You know why? Today, Lauri and I own e-bikes.
Set the peddle assist to level 2 and a pace of 10 miles per hour propels you at 18 miles per hour. As you peddle, the electric motor assists your efforts. It was actually quite an easy ride into that screaming headwind with the e-bike helping us ride. (I will admit, the wind WAS so strong that I did bump my peddle assist up to level 3 on the ride back). Yep, the power of the electric motor on the e-bike made all the difference.
My bike ride on Anna Maria Island led me to ponder how important it is to have folks in your life that propel you onward in the Christian faith. Being isolated as a Christian in this world is a bit like riding a regular bicycle into a vicious headwind. As the world presses in on you, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy faith-growth pace on your own. Is it possible to do the Christian life alone, I suppose, but why would anyone want to take that approach? The power of Christian community is that you don’t need to do the Christian life alone, and as others ride… er… walk alongside of you they can provide encouragement, prayer and a godly example. This is why we do church… this is why we gather multiple times a week.
The writer to the Hebrews wrote: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25 “Meeting together” has a significant role to play in the life of the believer — and the verse right before these two gives us the reason. “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess…” (23) Do you want to hold unswervingly to the hope you profess? Surround yourself with people who desire the same thing.
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