Memories.
I have fond memories of my very first bicycle with no training wheels. It was a rusty, green bike built for a boy. It was a hand me down. It was a blessing. The seat was missing. The pedals were also missing. This used bike was the first bike I learned to ride. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No.
Picture this.
As I attempted to ride, I sat on the crossbar, threw my feet underneath the pedal bars and threw them up and around, and up and around, and up and around, all the while trying to balance and gain speed. I wiped out quite a few times, said a few things a seven-year-old should not say, but I kept going back for more.
My friends laughed at me, but eventually, I was riding that bike almost as fast as they could ride their bikes. And the bonus – no one on the block wanted to borrow my bike – ever!
Is there something to be learned here?
What it taught me was with minimal tools and things not quite the way they should be; I could still do ride a bike.
We may not have everything we need, but.
We may not have everything we need to get the job done the way we think, but we can use what we have and still succeed. God gives us everything we need, not everything we want. With the things He gives us, we can do great and beautiful things and rest in His power and know He has the rest.
James 1:12 says, “Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.”
Can you break this down?
My footnote says, “The crown of life is like the victory wreath given to winning athletes.”
I may not have received a crown for learning how to ride a bike without a seat and pedals, but it felt good. But get this, God’s crown of life is not glory and honor here on earth, but the reward of eternal life – living with God forever.
How do we do that? By loving God and staying faithful even under pressure.
Let’s pray.
Father, I thank you for my old rusty, green bicycle. Lord, I can say that now. I would imagine I didn’t say it then. But Lord, it taught me endurance; it taught me patience and some other things. May we look at the old rusty, green bicycles in our lives now, and thank you. In your Son’s name, I pray, Amen.
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