exit strategy

I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was the sixth straight summer that I had ridden cross country via Oklahoma City.  I also was reminded that things look different in the dark rather than the daylight, and when you are in a group, as opposed to riding solo.  Like any big city anymore, they are comprised of a series of freeways that form a beltway around the downtown, and then try to scatter you off in your chosen direction.  Making a game of it all at the same time.   We all like playing games, but not when we are lost, and in this case I wasn’t lost as much as I was misplaced.  Looking for old Highway 66, I had planned to stop at Pop’s, to stretch my legs and have a Coke.  Now for those who travel these roads daily, no problem, but for me, at 80 mph fighting every Okie out to run me off the road, the road split, one exit becoming two, and of course I was in the wrong lane, the left lane.  It was too late when I realized it, but gazing in my mirror, saw the right lane open, and cut over the curb, down a gulley, back up the hill and over the curb, and merged onto the freeway, never breaking stride and staying at 80.  Do not try this trick at home, I could pull it off because I was on my Tiger, described as a 2-wheeled Land Rover, an Adventure bike and with 9” of suspension travel front and rear, it was possible.  Compared to the 3” on your Sportster or slightly more on your Gold Wing, you would have been thrown clear of your bike at the first curb, the Tiger took it all in stride.  A poor exit strategy almost killed me, the Tiger never knew it.  Add that to the reasons I stay off the freeways and ride the back roads of America. 

I have been riding Adventure bikes to tour for 13 years now, for touring and those who need 1000 pounds of two wheels underneath them, luggage capacity of the trunk on your Father’s old LTD, and room for a plush animal, complete with stereo and GPS, add in a Buick sized windshield, and they don’t understand why I choose the ride I do.  Because it is comfortable, smooth, fast, handles well, and two Tigers weigh less than any bagger Harley.  At half the price....And when the road ends, you don’t have to.  And that is where many great adventures continue or begin.  Even if they are only missing an exit, or riding from California to Maine.  But we cannot know every road, or even what lies ahead, every time I have followed a rider with GPS he got us lost, many maps don’t show detours, and road construction, repairs, and poorly marked exits make the ride exciting.  Experience cannot be taught, it must be ridden, but still no matter how many times I have ridden some roads, each time can be like the first.  And different on each bike...rider optional.

Don’t tell anyone, but the exit from I-15 south to SR 94 west can be taken at 80 miles per hour, even though the sign says 30.  On the right bike.  Done it many times.  And each time I see where I could have ridden it a bit faster.  My exit strategy is different for each bike, for each condition, and usually not fully known until the curve is entered.  Call it foolish, I call it riding by faith, and do it even on the straight sections.  And of course the curves.  But with each mile I ride, I find I know more about the road and the bike I am on.  But I align it with other things in my life, and one constant remains, the more I know, reminds me of how much I don’t know.  The increase of knowledge only increases the depth of wonder and delight.  And with each new adventure one thing becomes blatantly evident, I don’t have all the answers, and for those who think they have all the answers, they haven’t heard all the questions.  We will never know all the enigmas of life, knowledge will always leave us lacking, and understanding only take us part way.  In God’s wisdom we need him, we need to trust him, yet so many try to outsmart him, to out think him, to debate with him.  And end up missing the exit and having to change plans.  Fortunately Jesus forgives, and gives us another chance.  To trust, we just read it as another chance to be stupid. 

When following a fellow rider on a new road, I follow his lines hoping he knows what he is doing.  Do we do the same with God?  Sometimes a slower rider will get passed, only to find out why he slowed down.  Do we try to outpace God, knowing what lies ahead?  Only to miss an exit and take a shortcut?  Is there a reason the spirit slows us down for our own good?  Scripture tells us more than once to trust the judgment of the Lord, that he has the wisdom in all situations, all we need to do is trust him.  Before and during, then after.  When my sons were younger, they would ride with me, not knowing where we were going, just trusting me to get them there safely.  They never knew the close calls, the missed exits, or the multitude of prayers while I was riding.  They just trusted me, without reservation.  Do we approach Jesus in the same way?  Do we rest in his arms, knowing that all things will work out for our good if we do?  Are we so consumed with ourselves we forget about those who depend and trust us?  Jesus never forgets about us!

Jesus tells us to love or enemies because they are valuable to us.  They can come in the form of missed exits, people out to get us, those who oppose the gospel and those who agree with us until we don’t agree with them.  In all cases, we need to trust the spirit more, to let him lead.  God has put in each of us a yearning for him, and once we follow that yearning, and trust then obey, our rides will take on a much different perspective.  Yet we claim to know so much, to have experienced so much, yet we have such a shallow relationship with the one who does.  And today we all will be faced with decisions he will get us through, if we trust him, and lean not on our own experiences.  Our suspensions.  The potholes are out there and out to get us, one recently took out Doug’s front wheel on his BMW.  They are there, but so is God.  And just like the shocks and forks that absorb the potholes, his spirit will do the same for us.  The road may be rough, and a shirt I saw the other day said “bad decisions make better stories,” but God will see us through.  And his exit strategy for us is heaven.  An exit that if you miss don’t get a second chance.  There are gates in hell to keep those in, not to keep us out.  Fortunately it is not too late to change the road you are on.  Or the speed you are traveling it. 

Missed exits, wrong turns have taken me places I never would have known about.  They can also be a blessing when God guides your ride.  We try to take control of things, yet God will not allow it sometimes, as he is looking out for us.  He will not allow us to take his place and be in charge,we will always fall short if we try to.  But even when you miss your exit in life, Jesus is still there to catch you.  So why wait for catastrophe when you can enjoy a better ride today?  Why ride a smooth wrong road when a great adventure awaits us on one where we need all our skills plus the spirit?  God doesn’t stop when the road ends, it is where adventure, trust and testimonies begin.  We don’t call them adventure bikes for nothing, and life is an adventure to be had.  Just like a phone call just reminded me.  We need Jesus all the time!  Only he sees the end of the ride, and all the miles in between, we only see the road from behind bars.  He sees it from the top of the mountain. 

What is your exit strategy?  Do you know Jesus?  Do you trust him?  There is a difference, and today may be the day you see him clearer than ever before.  He was there the whole time, just like the exit I missed, don’t miss him.  I made it to Pop’s, don’t miss his Pop in heaven.  You may think you know all the answers, the most important question is do you know Jesus?  And your answer is....

We will all someday enter into that eternity he has set in our minds.  He has made everything beautiful in his time...even potholes.  All you need is the right suspension, and to trust and obey.  I thought I was paying attention that morning, I was glad Jesus was.  I rest my case.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

minimum wage blues

He was a hard working young man, just starting his career.  It was a  low end job, but he was working and just barely making it.  With all the talk of the minimum wage increasing, he went to his boss, after being chided by his friends, and told him he needed to make minimum wage.  When asked why, he said he couldn’t make it on anything less, and demanded he be paid the minimum wage by law.  His boss reluctantly agreed, and he bragged to his friends on his negotiation skills.  But when his next paycheck came, it was almost $100 less than normal for the two weeks.  Upset and angry, he approached his boss, “I thought I was making more, you were going to pay me minimum wage.”  And his boss told him, “I paid you want you demanded, to be paid the minimum.  I had been paying you more because you are a good worker, and I wanted to keep you.  You thought minimum wage meant that was what I had to pay you, but I look at it as that is all I have to pay you, and wanted to pay you more.”  The employee looking sheepish, asked for his old wage back, and was told, “you never stopped working for it,” and handed him a second check, for what he was making before, and still was.  Giving a new definition to the phrase minimum wage. 

Some owners look at it as “that’s all I have to pay,” how many of us look at our jobs as only a source of income?  Having lost more than one job, some that paid great, I would ask others out of work,
“what do you miss more, the job or the paycheck?”  Almost everyone answered the paycheck.  And of course, we were never paid enough.  Yet how many minimum wage Christians do we have out there?  Those that only live a minimum life in Christ?  They grouse about attending church twice a year, about having to pay a tithe to the offering, and are insulted when asked to serve within the church.  “I show up on Sundays, sometimes, I give when I can, and my wife has worked in the nursery before.”  But they are missing it, for it isn’t about the church, but Jesus.  And our relationship to him and with him.  A man once bragged to me about how he read his Bible for 20 minutes each morning, but that was all his contact with God for the day.  He was following a booklet of reading through the Bible in a year, and even though sometimes he wanted to read more, he stayed on schedule, not wanting to get ahead.  It was a lesson plan, not a spiritual plan, and if he strayed from it, felt guilty.  He wasn’t keeping up with the others....while another man took the same course, and after missing a few days after being on vacation, quit reading altogether, it was only an exercise, and he would start again next year.  Like many of his friends.  Never once did any of them consider just reading the Bible, it was always to just study.  And like any course we take, we study to pass the test, then forget and go onto the next lesson.  Not a life in Christ I choose to live. 

In these examples, the men had chosen to trip over man made doctrine, church advised rhetoric.  And we have all been there.  But when the spirit guides, we no longer trip over words or phrases, and can be guided and blessed.  Like the minimum wage earner, we want more, but don’t think we are getting enough.  But when we trust the spirit, we find he is giving us more than we are worth, more than just a minimum relationship.  In the spirit we get all the benefits, for life and after.  Yet some work for a paycheck form religion, and miss out on the job in life God has for them.  Why just read what the lesson says for today, what if I want more?  Why should I just pray before I leave the house, or before I lay me down to sleep?  Why can’t I have Jesus with me all day, like Psalm 1 says, and be blessed by meditating on him?  We can when we break out of the mold of religion, and not being a minimum wage Christian.  It is like those who go out witnessing, how can you turn off Jesus, and then turn him back on based on the audience?  His spirit is with you always, unto the end, what kind of witness are you?  When you study to be approved, who are you seeking approval from? 

Another man confronted me one day, bragging on how he has read the entire Bible three times in the past three years.  Studied John for the fifth time, but was burdened.  He was overwhelmed with keeping on schedule, and was missing the joy of the Lord.  He had confused the word of God for his spirit, forgetting it is the spirit that opens our hearts and minds to the word, and gives us life.  His trinity was Father, Son and the word, supplanting the spirit.  And when explained who the spirit was, exclaimed, “Now I get it! The spirit.  How could I have been so blind?”  He was working hard, but only getting a minimum wage in return.  Until he let the spirit guide him, and suddenly it wasn’t about the wage, or the reward, it was all abut Jesus.    And walking in his spirit.

Just like our paychecks, we can come up short in Jesus if it is all about the paycheck.  Consider who Jesus is and what he has done.  The fact he is God alone should be enough to be worshipped, yet we tie a price tag, a paycheck to him.  Jesus paid the price for sin, death, and we get to collect the wages of grace instead.  God calls them fruit, love, and joy, and peace, and patience.  If the Bible has become only a text book, only a guide, stop and ask God to give you his spirit.  And he will because he has.  And in it you will find the spirit giving you the understanding you cannot find anywhere else, no matter how much you cram.  It isn’t about what we do, it is about what Jesus did.  Find freedom in him today, to read all you want, not just to study.  Life is more than an open book test to see what we know, it is knowing Jesus and opening our hearts to him.  And via his spirit, we will find the joy found in the word, and not trip over the words.  So next time some Bible student tries to brag on being in the word, ask him if the word is in him?  Just might make a difference in how you see Jesus.  And find how he has written his word on our hearts, and is with us always.  No minimums, and the overflowing is about to begin.  Minimum wage Christians get just what they want, what they think Jesus is worth.  He offers so much more.

A final thought about the innkeeper in the story of the good Samaritan.  Two pieces of silver was great, he could have neglected the wounded man and remodeled the inn.  Or put him out and kept the money himself.  He didn’t know if or when the Samaritan would return.  Jesus will return for us, how will you have spent the blessings he gave you?  How you live your life in Christ will tell others about the love of Jesus.  Not of our own works.    In the spirit, you will find him worth so much more....you may be in the word, I rather have the word in me.  Minimum wage, only Jesus knows you are worth so much more.  The innkeeper was paid more than a minimum by the good Samaritan.  Only Jesus saves....a bargain at any price.  For no matter how much you make, the wages of sin will still be death.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

if you never ride it, it'll never break

I never was really sure of my position at Polychrome as a scheduling clerk.  The company had some strange management, young and they liked to party, so to assure my importance, if I even had any, I kept production figures and up to date inventories in my head.  My boss Walter was a nice guy, and trusted me, one of his many faults, and I was attached to him at the hip when we went to meetings.  Instead of a power point, still 30 years away, or even wall charts, he would ask me, and those in attendance and not on some sort of depressant , would copy down the figures.  They never doubted my accuracy, and soon it became a game to tell them just what they wanted to hear, all was well and all were happy.  Many sins of omission were covered up using whatever figures they wanted to hear, nobody but the customer failed at Polychrome.  For example when the sheeter was down, rather than address it, we would transfer all production to rolls, and brag about increased film roll production.  No one ever thought to ask about sheets, and even if one type of film was short, we would brag on another product in abundance.  And they all fell for it...today we call it propaganda, back then it was just telling them what they wanted to hear, and hope they were listening. 

A recent article on motorcycles  by Consumer Reports focused on quality and why a certain motorcycle was purchased.  Strictly analytical, with no brand or customer loyalty involved, it was based on cost to operate, and how comfortable the seat was.  How many repairs it needed, all lumped together, a blown fuse would count the same as a blown engine.  The results from the 2015 survey were interesting to say the least.  Victory had the best seats, and over 80% would buy again.  Note-they just stopped production.  Harley was next, and only Honda was in the group that would buy again based on the seat.  Now I ask, how many of you butt tested the bike you ride and said “great seat, but lousy looks and performance.”  Reliability was addressed, but with no criteria as to who did the work.  Or if the bikes were actually maintained.  Just one survey based on warranty, and the top 10 were surprising, at least to me. BMW was #9, Harley beat out Triumph, and Bolt was first.  But the things that went wrong concerned me more, 24% of the bikes surveyed had electrical problems?  Was that a tail light or a wire melt down?  18% had brake problems-that’s scary.  One out of five bikes dangerous to stop?  Body panels at only 6%?  Maybe that explains the rise in hooligan looking bikes.  I wonder who actually responded to the survey and if they actually rode.  Because the article advised to set aside $400 a year for repairs.  There goes tires in one year, a service every two will cost a $1000, chains and sprockets another $500.  How many bikes that need service, tires, chains and sprockets didn’t get them?  Don’t fix it and save money.  Just like the guy who bragged his insurance went up because he never got caught speeding-yet.  How many bikes got parked when they needed work, but owners didn’t do it?  At least the seat was comfortable....if you never ride it, it’ll never break.

But just some rankings on reliability, only 11% of Yamahas were problem prone.  40% of BMW’s, 26% of Harleys and 29% of Triumphs  reported problems.  Nothing stated about which problems were reported, is it possible those of us who ride more miles take better care of our rides and report more problems to fix.  I am in many shops visiting, and I can tell you, Japanese bike owners do the least amount of maintenance, Harley, BMW, and Triumph the most.  While a $500 bill will keep the Honda from being repaired, the owner at the Harley store who needs $4000 asks “how much down do you need?”  while pulling out his wallet.  Truth be told, there are so many personal reasons we ride what we do, the way we do, maybe you should buy a dishwasher based on CR ratings, never a motorcycle.  No mention of how comfortable the seats are in the showroom only....or how many miles per year were ridden.  Or how.  Or where.  And no animals were harmed during the survey.

An article I read recently showed that the greatest number of people come to Christ before twenty, the least amount after 70.  How many Sunday school kids forced into the Sunday regiment was not told, nor how any older Alzheimer patients were asked.  But based on the numbers, the article recommended where to place your evangelistic efforts.  Old is out, young is in, and also the potential for long range giving to the church.  And suddenly new programs built on youth, lead the way.  Based on a survey.  Not on Jesus Christ, or by the spirit.  There is an old adage about “if you want to split a church, start a building program,” and I have seen it too many times.  The older attendees are comfortable, and have paid the bills over the year.  Now new funds are needed for overheads and sound systems, to reach the young.  Gotta have trendy names for groups, even if there are only a few in each one.  At one church we attended, they claimed they needed more class rooms, they really had too many groups divided by age.  I was the villain when I offered “why don’t you combine some classes..”  It is OK for a 49 year old to worship with a 50 year old, or a 39 year old isn’t it?  No word from a survey yet....or God.  Because they never stopped to ask God, who tells us “unless he builds the church, they labor in vain.”  At last mention, God was over 70, does that matter?

The world of knowledge has crept into the church just like it has in motorcycle stats.  I used to think that the world invaded the church, but soon found I was wrong.  The church invited the world in, and shut the doors behind it.  They liked the new buildings, nice carpets, and campuses.  They only neglected to ask God, basing it on if we have the finances, God must be giving the OK.  And if not, we will borrow it.  I actually heard that more than once.  I wish it worked like that with motorcycles.  But like most of us who don’t have the finances, we buy on time, and many church lending companies will help you extend or over extend in the name of Jesus.  Very few stop to count the cost, or to ask God.  Because they have made up their minds, and many times know God has a different idea.  A better plan.  For all but them.  As the tell us how to conduct our lives. 

At a Bible study a woman told me she thought it was nice I ministered to the homeless and prisoners.  The same church recently stopped taking food and clothing donations, no one there to distribute them.  I guess in a body of 7000, it’s hard to find anyone who cares enough....another church ended its drug and alcohol program, they thought the $300 rent on the building down where those in need lived was too much.  Let them come to church, forgetting it is only 5 miles away.  And when I took some downtrodden there in the past, we were eyeballed and felt uncomfortable.  So when a story was told of a biker beating a man, I took offense, and told of biker church, Wheels of Grace magazine, and how many churches don’t like us.  “Well maybe if you brought 100 of them we might change our attitude..” as she thumped her Bible.  If you don’t want one, why would you welcome 100 of us?  God loves us and uses us to minister.  We meet in rental halls, parks, back rooms of businesses.  We spend money to help those in rehab, pay rent, help single moms, and provide clothing as needed.  No trips to Israel, no book signings, no big name speakers.  Only Jesus.  All we need.  And what makes you think we would want to come? 

I hope you don’t pick your church like you would pick your ride.  Comfy seats.  With lack of maintenance due to feeling good.  Jesus took us all in, and plays no favorites.  Who built the church you attend?  Did the holy spirit build it or man’s money?  Is the financial goal your number one goal each week?  Year?  Jesus addressed the church guilty of these things, telling them “I never knew you.”   But that “whoever does to the least of them, does it to me.”  You know, maybe it is easier buying a bike....maybe the seat is the most important consideration, it shouldn’t be when choosing a church. 

So I left this woman with this thought, that God told me.  If the seat of your pants is wearing out faster than the soles of your shoes, you have a problem.  No word in the survey on tires.  Get out and apply what you know, and when it is Jesus, watch as us, the church grows.  If your whole Christian experience is in church, you need to get out and live.  You know I was never surveyed, I guess you can’t ask anyone while they are out riding....

love with compassion,

MIke

matthew25biker.blogspot

what you see doesn't exist, or does it?

All of us who ride need a winter car, just good enough to trudge through the snow when the roads get icy.  Nothing fancy, read expensive, maybe something you wouldn’t park in front of your house, but you may in front of someone you don’t care for.  Living in New Mexico we got very little snow, but lots of cold, and to ride 2 miles to work wasn’t worth the effort, plus what sadist would leave his bike out all day in it?  So a second car, used was found, exceeding the $500 budget by $200.  It was a 1968 Mercury Monterrey 4 door sedan, aka The Cruiser.  Great shape except third gear slept in some mornings, the trunk held my son’s four wheeler, Mafia rated at 8 bodies.  But the guy who sold it to me, also had a letter to go with it from the Ford Motor Company.  It seems the original owner was impressed with the performance of the 390 cubic inches, and when he went to do a tune up, the engine number didn’t match Ford’s records.  As though it didn’t exist.  So he wrote to Ford, was it stolen, numbers changed, what’s up?  And Ford wrote back, it was an experimental engine, super high performance, that had been an engineering mule, and was to be destroyed.  But some wise employee commandeered it and it ended up in the assembly line built Merc.  Verified by the letter from Ford, and used to order parts by the previous owners.  No wonder the sucker ran, and only drank hi-test.  Just a touch of the pedal burned rubber, sadly the car was sold when we moved west 30 years ago, the letter with it.  Either an elaborate scam, or this sucker was what the letter said it was.  FAST!  And unique.

When visiting Baxter Cycle in Marne, Iowa, they allowed us to visit the back room, where the collectible bikes are kept.  Really a museum, but with bikes for sale, there sat a BSA Hurricane, the bike Craig Vetter designed for Triumph, with the three upswept pipes, and custom body.  When I commented I had never seen a BSA Hurricane, they all smiled, they had built it.  No such thing as a BSA Hurricane.  They were all and only Triumphs.  And it was a lot of work, as the BSA Rocket Three motor and Triumph Trident motors were different enough to do some custom work to install it.  The paint work was incredible, and it was for sale for $27,500.  A bike that technically didn’t exist, just like the Merc motor.  But while watching Mecum’s Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction last weekend, I saw that Hurricane, the BSA Hurricane sell for $25,000.  Someone now has the bragging right to it, time to build another. 

When my 1981 KZ750 developed a head gasket leak on a trip west, I took it to Kawasaki under warranty.  When they took the valve cover off, there was Japanese writing on the inside, which an old Japanese tech translated.  This was an early motor, built for testing, and somehow ended up in my bike.  Before I could even confront Kawasaki, they fixed the motor for free, and as a courtesy gave me another two years and unlimited miles warranty.  That is confidence in their product.  When I sold it 30,000 miles later it was still running fast....Another vehicle that on paper didn’t exist, yet it was there for all to see. 

After Jesus was crucified he was seen by over 500 people.  Even by two of his disciples who didn’t recognize him.  He was dead, and although his tomb was found empty, the fact of resurrection hadn’t sunk in.  But when he disappeared after walking with them, they then recognized who had been their walking partner, and commented “no wonder our hearts were burning inside.”  The holy spirit was revealing himself to them, now they believed, but would the others?  We face similar rejection today when we share Jesus with others.  But the one thing that cannot be refuted is our testimony.  We were there and saw it with our own eyes.  We witnessed what the spirit did through Jesus in our lives.  And while some churches and religions will give you a certificate of salvation, you know in your heart.  And no one can deter you from the truth.  You see a witness can only tell of what he sees or knows, and we know Jesus, resurrected.  We may not have ever seen him, maybe not hear a voice, but the spirit directs us to him, and provides us evidence that he is with us.  Like the Mercury motor, we may be out of place, but we are saved.  We are truly a one off, individually hand built by a master craftsman, God himself, and he stands behind us with an extended warranty for eternity.  Parts and labor.  Believing is seeing, that is faith.  That is the spirit.

Yet it is easier to believe the truth of the Mercury with the phantom motor, and the writing on the valve cover than the words of the Bible.  Misplaced faith, if only we were as straight forward with God.  But we can be, he is with us, and appears when you need him, even on the side of the road.  Just a short walk with Jesus and they remembered his words, he gave evidence to them.  Just as he does us.  it is there, the spirit provides it, are we paying attention?  Are we truly bred by the spirit, or are we still a hybrid in process, we believe, but we don’t believe God?  You can make anything fit, think of the lies you hear everyday that sound true.  But it takes the truth to be set free.  There is no Mercury built on an assembly line with that motor.  Yet I owned one.  No BSA Hurricane ever produced, yet one was made of two bikes.  And my KZ750 was a test mule, ridden hard then sold at retail as new.  All designed and built by man.  Yet we doubt God can change us?  I saw the writing on the inside of the valve cover, God writes his word on our hearts.  And what is on our hearts comes from the mouth.  What has he written on your heart?

Each one of us is uniquely made in the image of the master craftsman, God himself.  Is reunited by Jesus to him, and led by his spirit. The trinity, so complex yet so simple it cannot be explained.  But is evident in the lives of each believer.  A paper trail left behind called the Bible to verify, just like a paper trail helped identify what didn’t exist from the assembly line.  We ride by faith more than we walk by it, you we never know who you will meet along the road.  Or what they will be riding.  But we know who sent him....and that makes all the difference.  Proving that only Chevy made El Caminos, or didn’t they?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

wintertime dreams, summertime rides

Every time I feel the urge to vacate the traffic in So Cal for less crowded roads, the weather brings me back.  Having lived in areas where winter means snow and cold, living here is a great escape for anyone who rides.  Wintertime this year meant a rainy January, and with new press bikes to ride, they spent much too much time sitting in the garage and being looked at.  Now before you rightfully accuse me of whining, I have lived at 8300’ in Colorado, in New Jersey where winter runs during the school year, and also New Mexico, no snow, but lots of cold.  And the bike never got put up for winter, we dressed warm, took shorter rides, but we rode.  Long before heated riding wear and heated grips and seats.  So when my memory fades while lane splitting, one short blast of rain brings me back to reality, mine that is.  But while not riding, I am found reading about riding, and planning the next trip.  And with the internet, look at the new bikes and anticipate their announcement dates.  While it is 25 degrees and snow at Baxter Cycle in Iowa, here it is 75 and sunny.  A great winter day to ride, before the traffic gets out, so I do.  But enticed by the ads, the wintertime dreams of summertime rides are reeking havoc on my calendar, can it rally only be five months to summer?  And while that means spring is only 45 days away, as the ball players go to spring training, we who ride perform our own spring training, which has been going on all winter.  We are ready to ride...and the new bike ads keep the blood flowing. 

The monthly magazines, now every other month, get us excited, and the extra trips to just look at the early arrivals at the local store.  How many summertime rides were taken just sitting and pretending you are on vacation on your new ride, just waiting to prove the magazines right or wrong in their review.  The brain gets exercised as imaginary roads take place, and you wonder about wandering, and how the new motorcycle will make the difference.  Or worse yet, seeing the release date of April, when it is still January, and you want to ride.  I have logged many miles on bikes in showrooms, safe and secure from the cold and snow, counting the days until the roads are clear and I can ride.  It is the wintertime dreams, these imaginary rides in my mind, that keep me sane until I could, So Cal weather made the wait shorter, the rides sooner, and the wait longer for new bikes.  Winter is tough for riders, spring brings hope, summer is heaven, fall we cherish each day, and winter arrives always too soon.  And lasts too long.  And the cycle, pun intended, continues.

I am always amazed at how quickly we forget how bad the weather was once it clears up.  Sunshine and clear skies, warm temps and a long ride do a lot to erase the winter we endured.  When I had the first Bonneville Bobber two weeks ago, it was so cloudy, the bike looked black.  And then the first day of sunlight hit it, and the tank was a dark red with gold metal flake.  The color hadn’t changed, but when exposed to sunlight, its true color emerged.  And the 500 miles put on between storms, was duplicated in only two days of sunshine and warm when the weather changed.  We look at things differently in bad weather, just as our moods change when it gets better.  But how do we picture heaven?  When times are bad, do we wish for it now, and on nice days ask God to give us just one more day, because we are having such a good time?  Do we think of heaven at all, and when we do, how do we picture it?  Because we ride do we wish summer got here sooner, and winter later?  Or do we accept the day and enjoy it?

We have all uttered the words “well it’s all going to burn anyway,” when all seems bleak.  But we never hear those same words when all is going well, and we are prospering.  Do we customize scripture to meet our situation, or do we adapt to scripture, and allow it to adapt us to the situation?  We can have warm days in winter, but it is still winter on the calendar.  Does our viewpoint of heaven change with the weather?  Our conditions?  Our relationship with God?  When he says the rain falls on the just and the unjust, which are we?  Do we look at our situations and get our eyes off Jesus?  Take your eyes off the road when riding and you end up in a ditch.  Are you in a spiritual ditch about heaven?  Has it been reduced to just a heaven for bad days, or for good ones too? Do you waver in your relationship with Jesus the same way? 

While we have wintertime dreams about summertime rides, we need to be encouraged that heaven is coming, and we should enjoy our days here on earth.  They may seem long, but heaven is timeless, and when we have our eyes on Jesus instead of ourselves, we can have an on earth as it is in heaven experience.  We know very little about heaven, scripture tells us “eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor mind imagined the things of the kingdom.”  Whatever you think or dream it to be, it will be better.  And some of us have some pretty wild imaginations.  But the one ingredient for sure is Jesus will be there, and that he is here right now.  On earth, as he is in heaven.  And we can be with him right now also, we don’t have to wait to die to experience him.  In fact, if you don’t have a relationship with him now, you aren’t saved, you won’t see him in heaven, but still be part of worship.  In hell, as every knee will bow, both under the earth and above, saying that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Do you look forward to heaven and Jesus as you do to spring and riding?  Having a long winter, Jesus is here.  Spring comes early, he is here too.  In fact he never left.  And those summertime rides are closer, as we are one day closer to heaven. 

So while some dream, some wonder, and some imagine what heaven is like, we can know the tour guide, and be assured of how our ride will end.  When I read an article about a bike I have ridden being reviewed, I am so familiar with it because I have spent time with it, and can tell if they even did.  100 miles of freeway doesn’t tell you much about the bike, just Sunday in church doesn’t tell you much abut God.  Are you still in the showroom dreaming of a ride, or on the ride now?  Because the weather is nice, do you wish heaven will wait, or in the dumps and wondering why God hasn’t shown up yet? 

In Ecclesiastes, the preacher telling the story is really the searcher.  And finds all is vanity, a vapor that lasts a short time and is gone.  Like summer for some, or winter for others.  But when you find, when you are assured of heaven in Christ Jesus, you no longer search.  You explore the things of God, and each road brings new adventure.  Each season allows us to see a different aspect of heaven.  When our eyes are on Jesus we see things through his eyes.  And his sightline is always better.  And like he says, yes it all will burn, as it is wood, hay, and stubble.  Even our precious motorcycles will burn.  But heaven will be worth it, for the things not seen or imagined will dim our memory fast of earth.  Wintertime without Jesus doesn’t have to be summertime without him.  He has given us spring, when all becomes new again.  When we get out the bike and have it ready to ride, when the dream becomes reality.  Heaven is real....read the book and then take the ride.  Find out for yourself, and find a short ride will only make you want more.  May all your rides come true...no matter the weather.  In Christ Jesus.  Amen.

love with compassion,

Mike

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