My son and I went out for a ride last night to break in my fabulous new bicycle. I picked it up from our local sporting goods dealer earlier in the afternoon. They had given me some basic instructions, including some adjustments I might need to make when I started riding it, tuned up the bike and added a kickstand - no extra charge. We picked it up on the way home from school as electric anticipation filled the air. From the moment I purchased the bike, I fantasized about leaving my son behind in a cloud of dust, the wind whipping through my hair and the sweet sound of victory ringing in my ears!
But, alas, it was not to be.
As we entered the bike path, I started pumping while anticipating those beautiful coasting moments I experienced when riding my son's bike two days earlier. Those moments did not come. I pumped, and pumped...and pumped as he inched further and further ahead of me. I was flabbergasted! Could it be that I, not the bike, was the problem? Maybe I was so far out of shape I'd never be able to catch up.
That's when my recent encounter with the bicycle salesmen flashed into my mind. I remembered him adjusting the seat on my bike and me telling him it felt too high. I couldn't comfortably touch the ground with my feet in the position he set it. He adjusted it lower for my comfort, but told me I would pedal the bike more efficiently if my legs were fully extended, which would require the seat to be higher. He suggested I raise the seat as I became more comfortable with the bike. I thanked him and leaped into fantasizing about the victory dance I would perform at the end of our ride. His suggestions were acknowledged as useful and I filed them away as I planned my own agenda for the evening.
As my awareness returned to my current struggles, I realized I was attempting to propel a mountain bike forward while sitting in a position similar to someone eating dinner at the dining room table. Could it be that the salesman was right? Should I be sitting a bit higher? I knew what I was doing wasn't working well (I could no longer see my son at all - so much for reminding him to look back and check on me occasionally), so I decided to follow the instructions of my advisor. I raised the seat at least 4 inches.
It was a miracle! The bike moved faster. I pumped harder. I gained ground and could again see my son. I caught up to him! I was able to pump sometimes and coast other times and still keep up with him!!
By the end of our 10 miles, he and I were keeping a comfortable pace with each other. And I could still feel my thighs. Lesson learned: When an expert gives you advice, take it!
Isn't that behavior typical in other parts of our lives? We are given instructions from not only an expert, but the One who created us. He left all we need to live an abundant life right there in His Word, the Bible. Some of us take the time to read it and that's good. How many times do we read it, though, and simply file away the information we gain for use later, if we decide we need it? How much more smoothly would our lives be if we, instead, applied those principles right away, not because we decide to do it, but because He says it is the right thing to do?
But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. James 1:22-25
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