|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
It's All About The Bike Ever since I was a Bible Quiz coach, I’ve always searched for fresh metaphors explaining the Christian experience to others. Naturally, being a red meat-eating, testosterone-charged, semi-competitive American male, sports make the easiest source of inspiration. My best example of the Christian walk is cycling’s Tour de France. I’m not a bike-guy myself, but ever since Texan Lance Armstrong started his amazing winning streak (going for his fifth in a row right now), I’ve felt drawn to understand the three grueling weeks of the Tour de France. (It continues throughout July of each year.) Simply put, the Tour de France is a 2,000+-mile race cycled by 180 riders in 20+ “stages” around the French countryside. (The course is changed each year.) Though each stage can have a different winner, the rider with the overall best time wins the race. Typical stages consist of flatlands, mid-mountains, high mountains, and two individual time trial stages (where cyclists must race as fast as possible), and one team time trial (where the entire team’s time is counted, but the final rider’s time is most important.) It’s the job of the captain’s eight teammates to get him into the winning circle, so each has a different duty (think I Corinthians 12:12-14)—some specialize in climbing mountains, while others are sprinters. All protect him from attacking opponents and wind resistance (a leader can save a trailing cyclist about 40 percent of their energy by redirecting the wind). Frankly, the saying that “life/ministry is a marathon,” is inept. The metaphor of a lonely runner on a long trek may be symbolic of an alienating society, but not our Christian community, where we are surrounded by teammates willing to aid and abet our walk with God. And this is why I got so excited about the Tour again. On Day 1 of the 2003 race, a major pileup occurred that included the reigning champ. The Associated Press reported: “(Lance) Armstrong completed the race on the bike of his U.S. Postal teammate, JoseLuis Rubiera. Armstrong had a flat, and the wheel wouldn't turn, so Rubiera got off his bike and handed it to Armstrong.” In other words, Rubiera forfeited his chance of completing the race by giving his bike—his only means to finish—away. Haven’t you handed your “bike” to an ailing Christian friend when they needed it? Haven’t you been given a “bike” by a friend or God’s word or a wise word from a Sunday school teacher when you were at a spiritual nadir? Ministry is all about sacrificing yourself, being the lead biker, so that others can compete. It’s about giving your best so that others can make it to the finish line. It’s about fulfilling your responsibilities so that others can win the crown. Yes, there are moments of loneliness in preparation and presentation, but like the Tour—if the leader wins the race, the entire team gets to take a victory lap around Paris’ Champs Elysees, the most beautiful avenue in the world. And we, too, are surrounded by a “so great a cloud of witnesses” who are getting us to our spiritual finish line.
ninetyandnine.com © 2003, Kent d Curry --------- Kent d Curry is an executive editor of ninetyandnine.com. |
|
|
