Well, she was finally ready to give it a shot!  So I got Lucy’s bike out of the garage and to the end of the driveway.  She got on it rather tentatively as it’s the first time that she’s gotten on a bike without training wheels.

I pushed her off to a start and kept her balanced as she gained speed.  “Pedal!” I demanded.  She complied and soon I had to jog to stay up.  She kept leaning from one side to the other, so I had to work to keep her upright.

After several tries, Kim took over and began to coach her.  Lucy was so scared that she might make a mistake and crash. 

I tried to comfort her by confessing to her that I had fallen on my childhood bikes many, many times and had the scars to prove it!  That didn’t seem to give her any reassurance at all.

Finally, she quit…for the time being.  We haven’t given up and will try again another day.  She will learn to ride a bike on her own soon enough.

You know, the same thing can be said about our faith walk.  We can be tentative about taking our faith to the next level.  When the opportunity to participate in a Bible study or ministry comes along at church, it’s easy for us to shy away.  We can all come up with a laundry list of excuses.  On the flip side, we certainly can’t be expected to participate in everything that’s offered, but we do need to take advantage of some opportunities to grow in our faith and to minister to others.

That’s how we learn how to get our balance and become disciples who are capable of ministering to others as God grows us in our knowledge and understanding of Him and His love for us.  We don’t have to worry about crashing because God is in control and the results are up to Him.

Paul tells us in Colossians 1:9-10; “We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.  Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.”

So let’s all get out on our faith cycle and peddle for all we’re worth…And let’s leave the results up to the Lord!