Balancing
Act - Ten years ago and just yesterday I had the same sort of
conversation with two of my children regarding balance and riding a
two-wheeler while my mind was fully engaged with the upcoming sermon
text. (It is funny [and eerie] how normal conversations mix with Bible
passages in my brain each week. Object lessons are everywhere when
Scripture is cooking in the back of the brain.)
Imagine the scene: We took off the
training wheels, went to the blacktop at the school, strapped on the helmet,
the knee and elbow pads, and looked at 200 feet of asphalt that spread out before us.
“I can’t do
this. I am going to fall.”
“You can do
this. You’ve learned everything you need to know. Yes, you still might fall,
but I will be right here with you,” I reassured.
“How do I stay
up?”
“You stay up
by moving forward.” I coached.
“How do I move
forward?”
“You move
forward by staying up. Keep your balance and keep pedaling.” I answered.
“What if I
start to fall?”
“Just relax
and keep pedaling straight ahead. Don’t look at your feet, or your tires, or
even me; just look straight ahead at where you want to go,” I explained. "Where your eyes look is where you will go."
I
could see the problem: both of my children, spaced almost ten years
apart, have
to move forward in order to stay upright, and in order to stay upright
they have
to move forward. Have you ever noticed that bicycles are unusual in
that sense?
By themselves and stationary, bikes are clumsy—unable to even stand up
without
help. But with a confident rider and with steady motion, bikes are
sleek, remarkably
stable, and precise. It is amazing, even with the whirr of motion and
beads of
sweat, bicycling is ironically restful and refreshing. But not for
novices on two-wheelers without the training wheels … not yet at least.
Even though he got the hang of it on a two-wheeler that afternoon ten
years ago, and even though she will soon get the hang of it in a matter
of days, the conversation is the same. "Where your eyes look is where
you will go."
Our balance on the bicycle
applies to our balance on the journey of the heart. How do we keep our balance?
By moving forward. How do we move forward? By keeping our balance. What if we
start to fall? From a position of rest in Christ, we actively pedal while
trusting His power to pedal through us. We must not focus on the blur of
activity all around us; instead we must focus on our goal—which again is
Christ. He is our starting block and our finish line, our path and our strength
while on the path. He is our source, our means, and our goal.
