Synergy

Tomorrow morning, my older daughter cast as the female lead, will compete in her first UIL competitive drama one-act stage performance. The excitement around the house tonight is noticeable in the cadence of conversation and there is much energy for tomorrow might bring.

While we are beginning to grow accustomed to seeing her on stage (this is her fourth stage production this year), the thing I am finding most exciting for her is her experiencing the power of people working together.

Coming home from rehearsal the other night she was beside herself with excitement at the "synergy" she had experienced with her fellow cast members. While the other productions have been good, this one, because of the relatively small number of cast members and the intensity of rehearsals, has really bonded the cast and built an impressive amount of cohesion as a performing unit. Following rehearsal the other night, I think my daughter was surprised by how powerful synergy can be.

By definition, synergy (or synergism) (from the Greek synergos, συνεργός meaning "working together") refers to the phenomenon in which two or more discrete influences or agents acting together create an effect greater than that predicted by knowing only the separate effects of the individual agents. It is originally a scientific term.

Even in her struggling to find words to describe what she experienced, I shared with her a few times I have experienced the same thing. Performing with various music groups, creative teams and ministry experiences, I have been privileged to experience "synergy" with some frequency.

Today, several on our ministry team met to consider a new way of fulfilling our ministry at the church we serve. Utilizing a collaborative creative plan, we are considering how several people can be utilized to speak into the "game plan" and develop the creative "look" of the curriculum, lessons and sermons, rather than simply working in relative isolation (what we have referred to as "silo work"). Today became a highly synergistic environment and we haven't even started. That kind of experience gives me an incredible amount of energy. I'm very hopeful we will adopt this method of creative design.

I'm curious, what experiences you've had with synergy?

While I love the power of music and the solace that comes with making music alone and while I love ministry and seeing God do things way "beyond the human realm," when teaching or preaching, the thing I love the most about either one of those ventures is synergy -- getting to work with others doing some of the things I love. When God brings "discrete agents" together in proximity to accomplish His plans... there is nothing better than that!

As my daughter has experienced for the first time, and hopefully not the last, I hope to share many more experiences with her and continue to testify to God's amazing creative power!

Slowing Down

Undeniably speed (as in velocity, not narcotic) is one of my favorite things. The sensation of going fast in virtually any form has an addictive quality for me that it might as well be narcotic. There is something about feeling my body moving against gravity and air that makes me never feel like fast is fast enough.

I suppose the fastest I've ever gone is in an airplane, but the trouble with that is in a pressurized tube at 35,000 feet in the air, there are not enough significant points of reference to appreciate the speeds in excess of 350 mph. The ground is visually too far away, the air is locked away (for obvious reasons -- you can't exactly stick your arm out the window like you did as a little kid in the car with your Dad driving and feel the wind against it) and "fast" just never really feels "fast" unless you're on take-off or approaching landing.

I have many memories of speed experiences of which I'll reserve the actual speeds for some of those occasions on the grounds it might incriminate me. But... 58 mph on a racing bicycle in the peleton while descending a mountain pass during a particular road race in central California was a thrill. That kind of speed on such narrow race tires is exhilarating. With nothing between you and the pavement but Lycra shorts and an "egg carton" on your head, the thrill is in what you don't want to happen as much as what is happening!

Sliding down the face of 12 to 15 foot waves on a "big" day on a southern California shore break was memorable speed, though I would have no idea how fast I was going, but it felt fast to be sure. Skateboarding down a long hill seemed really fast, but again, speed is somewhat relative to the conditions. There have been some amusement park rides that have good speed to them, but they typically don't last long enough. Many years ago on Lake Havasu in a friend's super-charged 21 foot Miller ski boat we went fast... maybe 80 mph on the water ... that may not seem fast to you, but speed always feels faster on water than on land. And then there are the numerous car and motorcycle experiences... suffice to say, fast is "fast" (here is the potentially incriminating part, so we'll just leave it at that) and if there are legal limits to speed, there are also mechanical limits as well.

As I grow older and hopefully a bit wiser, I now don't take the chances (both legally or physically) I once did when it comes to speed, but I can't recall ever being truly afraid of speed. I have a friend who is a fellow motorcyclist and while he loves motorcycling, he doesn't care much for speed. He has a "limit" that he just doesn't cross. I'm wondering, if given all the necessary safety precautions, there is a speed for me that would be too fast? I've often thought given the chance, I'd be a candidate to set a land speed record because speed just doesn't bother me. Where my friend says he just "disconnects" with speed, I'm just beginning to get plugged in.

Lest I leave the impression that I'm either reckless or irresponsible, I might inform you that the only speeding ticket I've ever received was last year going 25 mph in a 20 mph school zone that I didn't even know I was in! In fact, at the time, I was proud of myself for thinking I was actually driving 5 mph UNDER the speed limit! Well, "pride goeth before the fall."

The one place I'm finding speed to not be so exhilarating is in the pace of life. Right now things are happening very quickly around me and, more than ever in my life, I'm finding the need to slow down almost to a stop. Speed is addictive and running high speeds at the pace of life, there is a "limit" where we can just be going too fast.

Yesterday, I took some time to simply sit and be quiet. I wasn't praying, I wasn't meditating, I wasn't reading Scripture... I just slowed down and "idled" for a while. I listened to the late morning silence of the wonderful neighborhood in which I live. I heard the birds, felt the slow gentle breeze against my skin, watched the trees sway against the push and pull of nature and felt a nearly forgotten rush of simply being still...

"Be still, and know that I am God"
Ps. 46:10

If you are moving too fast, don't forget to slow down occasionally.

Attuned

Call me weird (I'm sure many people do), but I have fantasies about spiritual stuff. Nothing way out of the ordinary in one regard (like I don't imagine what it might be like to levitate or enter another creatures body or anything of that nature), but I do have curiosities about things like what walks through a forest with Jesus might be like, or what experiencing a miracle like the feeding of thousands would do for my courage or what it would be like to hear God's voice as if I had my own set of divine headphones (now there is a headphone Bose might invent that I'd be willing to spend a few hundred dollars on). Those kinds of fantasies could occupy much of my thought if I allowed it.

One of my spiritual fantasies is to have an entire day fully scripted by the Creator from beginning to end. Imagine what it would be like to awaken to the Father's voice instead of that clock radio! Mine is set on a Christian radio station and on one occasion a verse from the Bible was being read when the alarm went off and I thought that was cool. I instantly began that day with God's word on my mind. But, what if it was God's voice that opened your day, every day? Would the snooze button have the same appeal if it were God blessing you awake, instead of the local report of weather, road closures and traffic tie-ups?

And what if after your shower, Jesus would arrive (already pure and holy) and you and the Lord sat down together and went through the day's schedule? God would have the day perfectly timed for maximum efficiency and productivity. Wouldn't it be great to have a Holy Spirit "secretary" leading through each appointment and obligation? Though I want to imagine this and more, I find it difficult to dream of how much I'd get done in a day if God were in totally charge of my schedule. How wonderful would that be?

How persuasive do you think you could be in that negotiations meeting if Jesus quietly spoke into your ear every time you needed a response to the other person's comment. Imagine having the foreknowledge and prompting of One who knows what the other person will say even before they know! Before a single word was on their lips, you would not only know what the word would be, but you would also discern the motive behind it. Wouldn't that be great? People would think you were so wise or shrewd and yet you would know where the prompt originated, wouldn't you? It would be difficult to take any credit or receive a compliment in the matter because you would know it was something quite beyond you making it happen.

Solutions today for tomorrow's problems wouldn't be an issue either because God's wisdom would preclude every decision. God would be advising what action now will yield the greatest outcome over time. It would be an amazing working relationship, wouldn't it? There is no telling how productive that day would be, the effects of which might last for years and years.

At the close of the day, it would be fun just to stop and simply reminisce together about all the things you'd accomplished. To marvel at the productivity, to laugh at the way all things worked together for good, to share in all the relational victories would be a great way to end the day, don't you think?

Yes, that is quite a fantasy I must confess. But I must also admit I believe the distance between spiritual fantasy and spiritual reality is often separated by only a very thin line. It is a line of faith and discipline that we are sometimes too weak and often too afraid to cross. The problem is never with God's ability to deliver, but in our inability to receive it.

What spiritual fantasy might you imagine? Would your dream be for God's glory or for your own reward? Would it allow you to become less of yourself and more of what He wants you to be? Do you believe given the opportunity, you would have the faith to live your spiritual fantasy out?

How attuned to God do you really want to be? How many of your spiritual fantasies are only a thin line from becoming a spiritual reality?

Anticipation

I spent a nice afternoon on the golf course today with one of my closest friends. A "third" joined us and it was an interesting experience really. Inviting himself to play with us did seem to be beyond him as he dropped atomic hints to the effect before the first tee.

I'll admit, playing with someone else simply wasn't high on my priority list today. In fact, I'll confess I was being a bit selfish and just didn't want him to tag along. But my friend, ever the hospitable Southern gentlemen, invited the "single" (both literal and in golf terminologies) to play along with us. So consequently "Moe" (not his real name) was riding solo in the "lonely cart."

All three of us hitting strong down the middle off the first tee was a great experience though I could tell instantly that "Moe the Single" was going to be an interesting character. Golfers know the tactics of a golf snob who is just insecure enough with his game as to be completely obnoxious in his golf etiquette and demeanor (all golfers have admittedly "been there and done that") and Moe was certainly no exception. If his game was "off" today, it certainly wasn't going to speak for itself... he would do the talking for it!

After all of us hitting good drives off the first tee (which always sets the tone for a good round as recovering an entire round from even a lousy first tee shot is at times seemingly impossible) there was a general sense of anticipation in the air. I had not picked up a golf club in something like five months and was happy to simply be on a course and hitting to where I could still see the ball! Woo-hoo... call my day a victory already!

Now, without even the benefit of one practice shot on the range, finding myself "safe and in play" on the first swing only set a great mental stage for my round. I was loose, relaxed and having fun. There is just something about merely being on the course that sets everything "right" in the mind of a golfer, especially if he hasn't played in some time. Sometimes it takes years to get to that mental place, but once arrived, the mental view from that vista is blissful and it is a meaningful destination from which one never wants to depart (yes, there is likely some form of "Zen" in there somewhere).

Play was consistent and steady through the first couple of holes and then Moe blew a shot off the third tee -- dribbling barely past the ladies' tee. As if scripted well in advance like an actor on book, out came the first in a litany of excuses and the "I'm just not having a good round" commentary. Clearly Moe's intention was to passively let my friend and I know he was a much "better" golfer than today's round would surely indicate. He seemed to go to painstaking lengths to inform us by the way and frankly, I didn't much care... I just wanted to enjoy a few golf shots and some time out with my friend. Funny how one can play better golf when the anticipation is merely to relax and have a good time. The more golfers anticipate good play (especially as hack amateurs such as we are) it seems the worse the result! This was certainly the case for our new companion Moe! "Visualize the shot... be the shot...take the shot...curse the shot..." was pretty much Moe's M.O.

Ten years divorced (we found this out on the 11th tee) and showing signs of significant loneliness in his life, Moe must have been well experienced and quite comfortable in the fine art of "self talk" because he did a considerable amount of it. All day long, he would just come "off the wall" with some of the most random comments either about his game, his health or his financial situation. I'm thinking if money is a real issue here, perhaps golf is not the wisest of investments? Nonetheless, I began to feel quite sorry of the guy, but his social demeanor was so offset and apparently even volatile at times (my friend and I concluded "anger issues" by the 15th tee) he seemed unapproachable to me and I was still trying to preserve my "good time" outing.

Lest we miss the point here... I anticipated merely a good time with my friend and a nice day on the golf course. I got both and for not having played in over five months, I was pleased with my score. I can only assume Moe clearly anticipated shooting the "round of his life" and I'm fairly confident he fell, well, considerably short of his goal. That for which he anticipated was not to be realized today. I'm thinking he drove home in less than a good mood which is pretty sorry for a lonely guy. I wonder if he anticipated that before he left? It might have been a better day had he simply stayed home.

Oh... and while we're considering anticipation... on the ninth fairway, several kids stood next to a back yard pool soaked to the bone and shivering with towels draped around them in the low 60 degree wind-chilled weather. Though it is still a little early to be frolicking in a non-heated swimming pool, these kids were clearly proclaiming their anticipation of Summer's arrival. I loved it! Only a child has the intestinal drive to "will in the new season" by diving into a chilly North Texas pool of water in the middle of March! Ah, the power of anticipation is a glorious thing! It can bring joy and wonderful times, or simply fill your day with sadness and frustration.

So I'm a bit curious... what are you anticipating today and how does that anticipation influence your current disposition?

FORE!!!

Watching Them Watch Him

They had no clue they were being watched. Its not that I was all that stealth in my observations, its just that at their age they are largely oblivious to any attention being given them that doesn't directly result in some form of recognition or aggrandizement. Most boys in their early teens come by it honestly, however. I know I certainly did and the residue lasted well beyond my teen years.

They congregated at the gym before he arrived. Arriving in pairs, with one solitary young man showing up on his own, it was apparent they were waiting for something or someone. Totalling five in number, they were an apparently good looking bunch of guys (on this, I'm not certain as my teenage daughters often inform me I have largely divergent opinions from theirs as to who is "hot" and who is "not"). Some teen girls seemed to notice them even before I did so I'm guessing they were closer to "hot" that I would have given them credit for.

Half way through my lat pull-downs, one young man started clapping his hands together very slowly. His gaze clearly fixed on someone beyond me and to my back, I didn't turn around until another teen joined in the disruptive rhythmic cadence. Suddenly all five boys were standing and clapping loudly, increasing in tempo with each beat. What began quietly was now a nearly deafening applause filling the entire space of the gym. Then I saw him. A good-looking guy (much closer to my own generation therefore lending credibility to my own judgement, I suppose) in his early 30's if I were to estimate.

Hugging each teen with some kind of a preestablished routine: hug with the right fist clenched, bang the other guy's back three times and then while backing away from each other, lift your right fist, palm forward and right elbow at 90 degrees straight toward the roof, the new arrival greeted each boy intentionally. Every one of them knew the routine and not a single one missed a beat. It was clearly male bonding at its core.

It was then I noticed a couple T-shirts and silk screened images on the teens. Not a single shirt the same, though several included verses of Scripture or Christian symbolism. In an instant, I realized I was looking at myself from a decade or more before. This moment was in the present, but the reflection in life's mirror was me and a crew of "my boys" from my era in youth ministry. Fond memories swept over me and a short prayer of thanksgiving for a time and gone by was on my lips. Those were very special times for me and my crew.

Two more sets on the lat pull-down machine and I was on my way to working biceps. Not my most favorite muscle group to work to be sure, so it was nice to have something (or someone) to serve as a bit of distraction.

Obvious to me now, I was watching a youth minister hang out with some of his boys. I watched with a different view and a more informed eye. So many familiar things came back to me. The banter, the good natured kidding, the masculine one-upsmanship... this was most definitely a youth minister working out with some of his more athletic boys during their spring break. There was no doubt about it!

Then I saw a glimpse of something I'd never witnessed before from this vantage point. I caught those young teenage men in the very act and I was sobered to the very core of my being. I began watching how they watched him. The youth minister likely didn't even have the awareness or the distance of space and time to catch a glimpse of it, but I saw it as clear as day and felt the weight of it as much as the 60 lb curling bar I was lifting for my fourth and final set. These teens hung on every word this guy spoke and watched his every move.

In less obvious ways, they were modeling him. Standing around him, listening to his stories, hanging even onto his vocal inflection, the degree of respect and honor these young men have for their spiritual leader was bold as life itself.

I had to resist from approaching the honored leader and saying something -- simply calling his attention to it would have been fairly presumptuous on my part and may simply have indicated something he already knew. So my resolve was to rather pray that God protect this leader's integrity and increase the power of his positive influence in the life of these students and the others in his care.

i had a view into the power of leadership and the magnitude of God working through a human soul. It was then that I also realized the power of the Cross in a life surrendered to it. As others watch a Christ-follower they will be watching them, watching Him, the Christ, and that is something amazing to see.

What influence of the Cross have you recently seen in someone's life?

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ"
(1 Cor. 11:1)

Goodness

This week in my faith walk has been filled with clarity on just how truly good God is. Taking what appears in the moment to be a really bad circumstance and routing it for the good is one of the things I love most about watching God be God.

When one feels as if they are at the end of their rope, there is a deliverance for those who trust in the power of the Creator to recreate life in the midst of dire circumstances. It is a divine equation factoring what is at times the worst of humanity with the absolute best in Divine Goodness resulting in something beyond human comprehension. Goodness of this sort is so, I don't know, incredibly "good."

"How can anything good come from this?" is the anthem of the distressed. "I can't believe things could be this good!" is the song of the redeemed.

If you've not taken notice yet this week, look around your own life and in the lives of other people around you and notice the goodness of the One who is Good. God is working all around us and it is fascinating and faith building to watch God be God for I've come to know God is Good, all the time!

What have you seen this week?

Simply Amazing

One of the things that has always drawn me to adventure sports is the opportunity to experience something amazing. Sliding down the face of a big wave, skiing the top of the mountain, racing bicycles, riding motorcycles, climbing sand dunes in dune buggies, skin diving, white-water rafting class 5 rapids, etc. all have the opportunity to amaze. I've always been something of an adventure junkie (within reason and finances) and have had my share of great experiences and hope to have even more. I'm guessing a parachute jump is in my future before I hit the half-century mark.

One of the things that has always drawn me to faith is the opportunity to experience something amazing. The power of God's ability to "forgive and forget" is amazing grace enough. But to add to that list praying for something to happen against all odds and watching it happen; the complete healing of a "there is no hope" patient, the funding for a ministry need from "out of nowhere," the total reversal of a life headed the wrong way, the divine intuition to call someone when they "needed you most." I've always been kind of a faith junkie (with too much reason and (sometimes) too many finances for faith's good) and have had my share of great experiences and hope to have more. I hope that on my dying day, I witness something amazing at the hand of God. Perhaps my own salvation would be amazing enough?

Recently, I saw God begin to do something in the lives of some people. In a world where we sometimes think the potential of a human being is without limit, I watched God take a very limited "human" situation and begin to move it to "beyond super-human" capabilities. Like a priceless work of art in process of creation, the details remain hidden for now, but watching God work has renewed my conviction that if one is looking for "adventure," without question faith provides perhaps the greatest arena for it.

I've experienced some amazing adventures in my lifetime, but never any as great as scaling the boundaries of faith. How far will faith take you? One thing is assured, a great adventure awaits you!

"And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Heb. 11:6

More time?

Still mulling this whole time thing over, I was riding home a couple days ago and a disturbing image from my past came back to my recollection. I'd not thought directly about it for some time, but the recollection came with force. While quite morbid in nature, it frames the reality of time in an eerie but profound way.

For whatever reason, it has been my misfortune to come upon many (you'd easily have to count them on more than one hand) fatal auto wrecks. It is not as if I am an EMT or policeman mind you, I'm just an average guy, who over the past few years especially unfortunately seems to be among the first to "arrive on the scene." There was a string of a few months were I came upon three within a short time of one another. It really began to bother me.

One unfortunate occasion a few years ago involved an older woman who was hit in an intersection and her car then exited the roadway into a park/water-retention basin traveled a couple hundred yards across a field and then struck a tree with significant force. Stopping my car as quickly as I could, I ran across the field and was one of two people to find the woman still somewhat seat-belted in the car but beyond either of our abilities to help her (she appeared quite gone from this life). I believe she may have perhaps expired prior to the collision, I simply don't know. When the EMT's arrived there was apparently nothing they could do for her.

My point is not to sensationalize her demise and I pray peace for her remaining loved ones. What I found most startling was the watch on her wrist... though she had left this life and the constraints of time as we know it, her watch still faithfully ran. The sweep hand marking the seconds as it had done for as long as she owned it. It was an eerie thing to see. Closing my eyes brings the image back with startling clarity.

It was the type of watch someone would give as a gift. An "older woman's" watch that had the signs of longevity on it. The watch was still "living" but she was not. I was standing before her, helpless, on what was to be her last day.

That moment forever affected the way I view time. I used to collect watches, now having more than I can wear in nearly two week's time. I still enjoy them very much but I wear them differently since that day. My view of marking time changed in an instant.

A late friend of mine was given a pocket watch by his family after his first remission from cancer. His wife and children gave him a pocket watch because of the effort it took to check the time. Each time he wanted to know the time, he had to take the time (and effort) to take it out of his pocket, open it, then look and realize the time. There were no quick glances, no cursory checks -- every second was precious and quite intentional in his use of the watch. His memory and the witness of his pocket watch are with me to this day. I will always remember how diligently and profoundly he would check that watch. While he loved the watch, I witnessed him treasure every second he had left in this life. He really knew the value of time.

If you are on the "fast track" in life right now, do yourself a favor and take a moment to value time and appreciate having "more time," for as long as you know you have it. Save only the Savior's return, nothing will "keep" time -- not even a precious timepiece -- it will keep on ticking -- and when we're gone, it will only keep on going.

"Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord
a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."
(2 Pet. 3:8)

Time Flies

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote, "Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind." Perhaps nothing could be more true than in the world of blogging.

It has been a full week (I can't believe it has been that long) since I last offered an entry here. There have been moments (read: seconds) in the past seven days where intentions were quite high to sit and offer a thought or two, but time has flown over me and I've only had its shadow in which to remain. Time. How fleeting and illusive!

It has been said that "time cures one of everything, even living" and I suppose this to be true. Time is illusive and may get the very best of us (or the worst of us depending on how we look at it) if we are not diligent in our stewardship of it. Enjoying writing as I do, I find the tyranny of the urgent driving most of my writing. A letter of correspondence, an email to set a meeting time, a lesson plan or teaching outline all demand attention and consume the "available" time I perceive I have to write recreationally (even in a space as brief as a blog).

Though we can never fully avoid the demands of time, lately, I've been trying to think less in terms of time and more in terms of essence. I've been considering what is it I essentially need to "be" rather than what it is I necessarily must "do." I believe there is a bottomless pit closely associated with this type of thinking. When we exclusively place "being" over "doing" we can get so lost in the "being" that the "doings" requiring deadlines and appointments become meaningless. It is recommended steering clear of that trap.

However, there is merit to finding balance between the "doing" and the "being."

As I sit to write in this moment, I'm finding the expression coming not from the "need to cross 'blog writing' off my day's "to do" list," but rather from the desire to stop for a moment and think about something or someone and try to connect with some folks who might indulge me long enough to read what I have written and perhaps garner their thoughts as well.

Rather than letting time manage me, I'm trying to find the principle difference in better managing my time. Doing so efficiently must have something to do with "being" and "doing" and I'm trying to find out what the balance is to it all.

Have you any ideas on balancing time and what motivates "doing" what you do and "being" who you are? I'd enjoy you taking the time to share some thoughts...

Denied the Ride

An avid motorcyclist is always looking for an excuse to ride the bike, but being exposed to the elements brings a whole different dimension to the experience of transportation. Instead of wanting to ride, frequently motorcyclists have to choose to ride (or choose not to ride as the case may be).

Most operators of cars (a.k.a. "cages" to the motorcycle riding community) give little, if any, real concern for the weather conditions around them. They will simply put on whatever clothes feel comfortable or that which is fashionable for the occasion, grab the keys, jump in the car and go. For a motorcyclist on the other hand, attention to the weather is a serious matter and can, at a minimum mean comfort on the ride and, ultimately could even be the difference between life and death. So if there is a significant threat of inclement weather, the tendency for most riders is to err on the side of precaution and take a car. Then there are days like today...

When my day began at 5:30 this morning, the forecast was for a blustery and gusty day with sustained winds in the mid to upper 20 MPH range and gusts up to 40 mph and a high temp in the low sixties. For a motorcyclist, those numbers aren't inherently prohibitive (especially the temperature because the low sixties are about perfect temperatures for bike and rider), but winds of that velocity do not make for the most enjoyable of conditions. All things considered, today I chose to take the "cage."

When time came for the evening commute, exiting the office revealed the day could not have been more pleasant for motorcycling. Sitting at intersection after intersection on the way home, I saw fellow rider after fellow rider enjoying the same wonderful weather I could have been enjoying as well. "Jealous," you accuse? Of course, you'd be correct! Anytime a motorcyclist sees other riders on their bikes having a great time and you're not on yours, there is a profound sense of "bummer" going on in the "caged" rider's mind. Happy for the other guy to a certain degree, but still wishing... longing... you were on your own bike. It is a "lost day" in the mind of a true rider.

On the drive home, this got me to thinking about our witness as Christians. If pre-Christians had any real clue about how fulfilling a life relationship with Jesus Christ really is and then chose to "drive" instead of "ride," might there be some sense of "missing something?" In other words, a "lost day" for them. The difference of course assumes there would, for that pre-Christian, be some awareness of what they were missing. Perhaps if followers of Christ really lived lives of testimony and witness, pre-Christians would have a stronger sense of what their life could be. They would have a better idea of what they are, in fact, missing!

Many people wonder why I ride motorcycles at all, claiming it is simply too dangerous! Others wonder why I ride as often as I do, again claiming danger and that I'm only increasing my odds for disaster. My only reasonable response to their protest is "if you've never ridden, you likely won't ever understand."

I've frequently said, "Some are born to ride and others are just born." I frequently encourage people to not discount motorcycles until they have at least ridden one! Many people never even try motorcycling and for a guy who loves it so intently, I find that sad for them. Many convince themselves the "risks" are not worth the "rewards" and simply avoid it altogether. But many of those don't do so out of informed experience, but merely out of preconceived notion and ill-informed assumption. (Ask a friend of mine who crashed within her first seconds on a motorcycle, gashed her leg open, and still proceeded to motorcycle safety school the next day, and today happily rides as often as possible! One has to at least try it before they can honestly reject it).

Others will wonder why Christ followers spend time seeking the Lord. Still more are curious why Christians are so serious about their relationship with the Christ. My hunch is that if they have never experienced our true witness of that relationship, how will they ever know? And if they never know, how will they ever make an informed decision as to whether they will ever take the risk to "ride" or not?

I'm ready to ride. Does anyone else care to join me?