It's that exciting time of the year when people are watching Le Tour de France for the cycling and scenery. If you're watching the tour live from Down Under, you'll be having some very late nights! Now a little over half way, Le Tour 2016 has already been an exciting race. It is about to enter the mountain stage. Cycling is a strategic and somewhat mysterious sport, and as Le Tour has progressed, I've been thinking about some cycling analogies for the Christian life: Hunger flat = failing to nourish your soul with the Word of God. Bad situation. Bad, bad, bad! Drafting = strategically benefiting from a stronger believer. Discipleship. Mutual mentoring. Peloton = an organism made up of individuals. The church body. Working together for a common purpose. Fixed gear = don't stop pedaling! (Heb.12:1, James 1:4) DNF = Did not finish. An epitaph to avoid (Luke 8:13) Dropped = could not handle the pace (Luke 8:14) Breakaway = setting the pace Training = ... is good! (1 Tim. 4:8) Attack = Considering that it is the Holy Spirit who attacks like a prosecutor, it is our role to follow and respond. (See John 16:8) Bridging the gap = Crossing the chasm from death to life. Unlike cycling though, we can't do this in our own strength (Eph. 2:8-9) but in faith alone (Jn. 5:24). The origin of the passage in Luke 26 about the Rich Man, Lazarus and Abraham is unknown - is it a true account, a parable or an analogy that Jesus teaches from? Regardless, the point is that the chasm has to be crossed before the finish line because it can not be crossed later (Luke 16:26) "Cycles" of the Christian life: Starting out = wobbly, training wheels, uncertain. New skills and strategies to learn. Mere survival is a challenge. Craving pure milk (1 Pet. 2:2) Coaching and discipling = getting stronger by growing out of milk and into solid food (Heb. 5:12-13) Mutual mentoring = as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another (Pr. 27:17) Crashing = Those who hear and respond in joy, but fall away in times of temptation (Luke 8:13). Some say that you're not a real cyclist until you've crashed; I don't think this analogy applies to the believer! Take care not to crash! Training = Disciplined training hurts (2 Tim. 1:7, Heb. 12:11). Training is good. Train alone (quiet times and diligent study) and train together (remember: iron sharpens iron), hold each other accountable, disciple one another. Dropped = left behind by the peloton. Not being fruitful (Lk. 8:14) |