The Bungee Cord
Hello,
My five-year-old grandson brought his family to visit us this past weekend, and part of his visit was to learn how to ride a bike. The bike was shipped here because we have a lot of grassy areas that are more amenable to falling than the concrete of New York City. Soon after he arrived, he strapped his new helmet on his head and readied himself for the adventure ahead.
We held the bike upright while he took his place on the seat and gave him the needed instruction: keep pedaling! We aimed him southward on a gentle sloped part of our yard, and with the countdown…..ready….set…go….we gently shoved him and let him go! He made it pretty far, but his balance teetered and he took his first tumble. Back to the top of the slope we went, he took his place on the saddle, and off he went again. A little bit further this time but like before a tumble befell him. The next attempt went even better, so good that he came to the end of the slope and had to make a turn….tumble. With every try, he developed more balance, more speed with the pedals, and even learned to make the turns. By the time that his visit had come to an end, he had progressed to the church parking lot and discovered the thrill of gliding over the ground and feeling the wind brush across his face…still tumbling when he came to a stop and when he missed a turn and went headlong into the bushes. No pain….no gain.
As you might suspect, some of the tumbles were accompanied by a few tears, but they were never met with scolding. Instead, each time he tumbled, one of us was there to untangle him from his bike, hug him, applaud his efforts, and to say with encouragement, “Let’s try that again. You’ll get it.”
It occurs to me that learning to live in the grace of God is much like learning to ride a bike. When the grace of God is unwrapped for us, the thought of gliding along the path of our life brings a breath-full of exhilaration to our lungs. Rather than daily, slowly trudging on our way, weighed down by judgements, failures, and ever-increasing pressure, the grace of God, like riding a bike, brings a whole new dimension to life…an abundant one. One that is full of thanks, love, peace, hope and joy. Of course, as we are learning to glide along in God’s grace, we sometimes lose our balance, turn too sharply and we tumble. We condemn others and ourselves. We hit potholes of jealousy and logs of fear. We poorly negotiate turns and changes of direction….and we fall.
But here’s the good news of learning to glide in God’s grace: when we tumble and fall, God does not come to us with shame in his voice and scold us for tumbling. No, just like we did for my grandson, God hurries to us, untangles us, and with patient love says to us, “Let’s try that again. You’ll get it.”
And by the grace of God, we become more and more adept at riding the bicycle of grace that God has given us and on which he has seated us. Pretty soon, it becomes natural….loving others as we have been loved, seeing hope when the world darkens, finding peace even in the turbulence around us, and celebrating blessings that others receive. And maybe the best news of all is that, just like riding a bike, gliding in grace is something that once learned is always learned. It is something that no h-ill can take away from us, no doubts can steal from us, and no adversary can loot from us.
This week, enjoy the ride on God’s grace, and if you happen to tumble, this is what you will hear, “Let’s try that again. You’ll get it.”
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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