However, this all changed on the way to church this morning. We came to a four way stop at the same time as an older couple on a tandem bike. I watched as they slowed to a stop and simultaneously got off the bike. They smiled at each other, smiled at us and waved us on. I found myself wishing we had waited and watched them begin their biking again. Then it hit me. This was the perfect symbolism of our relationship with God.
I thought of the woman on the back of that bike. I did a little research and she is called the stoker. This is where the metaphor really took off. You see, her job is not simply to sit back there and let the pilot (person in the front of the bike) do all of the work. There is more weight with two people and this requires more power. The experience will not be successful if the stoker sits and doesn't join in. God doesn't expect us to sit back and do nothing. Don't get me wrong, we are to let Him lead. The stoker doesn't determine the direction or change speeds, but there won't be any success if they don't pedal. We aren't supposed to sit back and wait for God to do it all. Too often I think we are waiting for God to move when He is trying to move us. God chooses to use us. He chooses to allow us to join in His work, to be His hands and feet.
Then, I thought back to the experience I had riding a tandem bike in college. I was the stoker with some of my good friends on a bike one of them had bought from old Mackinac Island rentals. I thought it should be pretty easy. I mean, all I needed to do was get on and pedal, right?? WRONG! It went horribly wrong. The stoker and the pilot have to ride in tandem. You have to be able to synchronize your movements for balance, your pedaling, your shifting, and communicate turns and stops. My mind went back to that older couple. I don't know them, but judging from how well they did and the success they had, I bet they've been together for a long time. They were so in tune with each other that balance and synchronization came naturally. They could almost sense what would happen next. This is the way it should be with God. We should be spending so much time with Him and getting to know Him so well that synchronization comes naturally. We should be able to anticipate when He wants us to change our pace, shift our speed, change direction, or lean into a turn.
Do we need to get on the back of the bike and be the stoker so that God can be the pilot? Do we need to spend more time with God so that we are in perfect synchronization with Him? Do we need to start pedaling and stop thinking we are only along for the ride?
It's a great day for a bike ride! Let's see where God takes us!
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