“Just Like Riding a Bike”

MEDITATION for June 3, 2012

Trinity Sunday

John 3:1-27 

       Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”

     Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”

     Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”

     Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

    Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”

    Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

     And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

     “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:1-27)

***

     Got a new bike this week. It’s lavender and has a basket on the front and a cool bell. Ding ding!

     I bought the bike at Walmart and Jim found the basket and bell online.  The basket, because I gotta have room for my stuff, for whenever I go on a long ride.  (It’s not big enough for my Pomeranian, just in case you are wondering.)

      The bell was Jim’s idea.  I guess so that when I am riding around Renville, I can ring my bell to say hello to people, without taking my hands off the handlebars.  Or maybe it is so if I am about to crash into a pedestrian, they will have advance warning.

     You see, I haven’t ridden a bicycle for at least 15 years—since my 19-year-old son James was a little guy. So I am not very good right now. But I used to ride all the time. James used to ride on the back in a special toddler seat.  He had a little white helmet. 

    And whenever he would see me getting my bike out of the garage, he’d run after me, waving his helmet. He was always ready to go.

   After riding my new bike in the church parking lot this week, I have one observation to make. Whoever came up with the expression, “just like riding a bike” when they meant something was easy to relearn how to do when they hadn’t done it in a long time, didn’t know what they were talking about.

    Learning to ride a bike is not so easy.

   The first loop around the church, I could feel the burn.  Ouch!  Evidently, sitting at the computer every day doesn’t develop the muscles you need for riding a bike. 

    But I want to ride, anyway, because when I am on my bike, though my legs ache and I get tired, I feel good. I have the same peace that I do when I take walks with the Lord.

    So now I am riding my bike with Jesus, too.

   Learning to follow Christ is kind of like learning to ride a bike. 

   It’s not so easy. It can be painful, especially for an adult who was not raised in the church or did not accept the faith as a child. It can be frustrating, when you are trying to be a Christian and your friends, coworkers, or classmates just don’t get it.  Why aren’t you available to go golfing on Sunday mornings or go away every weekend and not bother with church?  Why can’t you just have a good time, without always thinking about the Lord?  

     But you can’t help thinking about Christ, if you want to follow Him.

    Being a disciple begins with His call on your life and your decision to obey.  You aren’t automatically a Christian just because your family or friends are Christians.  Or because you went to Sunday school as a kid.

     You have to decide that following Him is what you want.  And you don’t just make the decision once in your life. You make it every day, when you wake up. You set your mind on being His disciple.   You surrender yourself and your life to the Lord and say in your heart, “I am yours. I am ready to go where you lead. I will do what you want me to do.”

    When you first make a decision for Him, your life begins to change. It just happens. You have opened the door for the Spirit to work in you like crazy—without any resistance from your flesh.  

    You start thinking and behaving differently. You begin to realize that life in the Spirit isn’t all about your desires and plans for the future.  That’s what life in the flesh is.  Being a Christian means you are born again from above, like Jesus tells Nicodemus in our reading in John.

     Sometimes, when the Spirit is working in you, you can’t sleep.  The Lord is trying to get your attention and teach you something and you are struggling against it.  You don’t really want to change—because it is hard.  It’s like those first few laps you make on the bicycle—it doesn’t always feel good.

    And even later on, you may not always feel like being a servant—because it is work! And it involves sacrifice. You might rather just do your own thing, without worrying about whether God has other plans for you.

     But if you are faithful to Christ’s call to discipleship, you will have peace. 

     If you resist the Spirit and turn away from the Lord’s Will, you will lose your peace. 

     Nicodemus was struggling in mind, body, and soul that night when he finally got up and went to Jesus in the darkness.  He didn’t want to be a follower of Christ, which would place his own life in danger. But God had plans for this important teacher and leader of the Jewish community.  Nicodemus would become a strong witness for the Lord, a follower of Christ, after Jesus was crucified.

      It was that night, when Nicodemus came to the Lord for answers, that Jesus spoke those amazing words that sum up the gospel message.

    “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

     Why did He give His only Son?

     Because He loved the world.

     Did He send His Son to condemn the world?

    No, He sent Christ so the world might be saved.

     This afternoon, we will gather to celebrate the 100^th birthday of our oldest living member.

     Henry has shared that he feels blessed for his long life—and especially for the love of his wife, who passed away some time ago. 

     You know how the Psalmist says, “My cup runneth over?”  Henry says, “My barrel has runneth over!”

     But he’ll tell you that he spent many years with the Lord and many “without the Lord”—just doing what he wanted to do.  If he could change anything in the past, he wishes that he could have been with the Lord all his life.

    Some of you may be thinking the same thing, regretting the years when you were not following Christ with all your heart.

   But, I assure you, what matters most is your decision to follow Christ today and from now on.  God has forgiven you!  We can’t fix our past, but we can trust the Lord with our future.

    Because God loved us first—before we knew Him, when we were still in sin.  

    And He didn’t want us to die.

    So He gave His Son to die for us. 

    So that those who would believe in Him would have everlasting life.

Let us pray.       

       Gracious and merciful God, Thank you for what you have done for us through the sacrifice of your Son.  Thank you for your love and forgiveness. Thank you for your Word and for revealing your will to us when we seek you and submit ourselves to you.  Teach us how to be your faithful disciples and to disciple others in Your Word and Your ways.  Give us the strength and determination to follow you wherever you lead and to do whatever you say.  In Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.