I am amazed that after a hard and demanding week at work, Friday night
brings an excitement for Saturday morning and going for a ride. When I used to
do the 9-5 thing, which really was a 6 to 6 thing, you may be physically and
emotionally spent, but by Saturday morning you were up early and ready to ride.
Before traffic overtook the So Cal freeways and turned them into a parking lot,
so many rides were taken up to The Rock Store and riding the canyons in Malibu.
Back roads to Santa Barbara, Santa Paula, Ojai, and into Santa Ynez, resulting
in a 600 mile ride, getting back in the dark. Worn out, but not tired. These
once a week respite from reality kept us going, and even though most of my
riding is during the week now, with less traffic, Saturday rides are still when
most guys are out twisting their throttles, being ministered to after a week of
work, family, bosses, and other demands. After spotty weather this spring, last
weekend the roads were full of riders again, and it was good to see. Stopping
at the old Honda and now a new Indian store in Redlands, it was full of people
checking out new bikes. The lot filled with guys bench racing, and even food
joints full. For some a destination, for some a turn around point, but for all,
a day to get out and ride. To enjoy the freedom only found on a motorcycle,
where the brand, the road, or who you were riding that day were of secondary
importance, you were out riding, being ministered to and that was the main
thing. If only there were more Saturdays to ride...
But being retired, I have five additional ones, but somehow the vibe is
different. The shops are empty when I stop by, missing the lunch crowd I don’t
have to wait in line. There are lots of empty roads to ride, but somehow the
brotherhood, the meeting and mixing with others who ride is missing. It took
some getting used to, but now I fully enjoy it for what it is, or it is what I
had hoped for all the years of working. Time to ride, and roads to do it on.
But I miss my old riding buddies, some all we did was ride as we had nothing
else in common, but ride we did. Our weekend fix was motorcycles, our drug of
choice, and we could never get enough. But then there is Sunday....
Like those of us who ride, I know many who look forward to Sunday for
church. Just for the fellowship, of getting out among fellow believers, to be
among their own kind after a week in the world. But just as some live to ride
on weekends, some only live for Jesus the same way. They divorce themselves
from him during the week, no wonder they are tired and seeking fellowship. They
live a dichotomy of two lives, one at church and one at work, with maybe a third
reflecting home life. A sign on a church yesterday caught my attention, “don’t
leave your family at church, take them home with you.” Not sure of the point
they were trying to make, but to me it reminded me of how Jesus is a 7/24 thing
with me, daily not just for a day. Yet religion brings out the worst in us, as
some argue Sunday vs. Saturday for worship. Traditional vs. contemporary
services. Some adhere to the Ten Commandments thinking that is all there is to
church, but miss out on the salvation of Jesus, the personal relationship and
the holy spirit. When single we used to get our bikes ready on Friday night to
ride, check the oil, the tire pressures, and top off the tank. We were ready,
yet there was always one straggler who was late, needed gas, or broke down along
the way. They didn’t prepare! No commitment. No respect of us. As Christians
we can fall into the same trap of not being prepared. If Jesus is an everyday
thing, you are always ready, when spirit led, you know who to turn to and what
to do. While the religious go to prayer, those in the spirit act, they know and
trust God, and don’t have to ask him about everything, or go corporate for
someone to pray with. The spirit is always with us, so we always have the
perfect prayer partner, yet religion will steer us away and alone. If you only
spend one day a week with God you won’t be much of a Christian, just like riding
once a week will not keep your skill set sharp. Weekend fixes are OK, but the
daily fixes, the daily bread Jesus talks of is what we need. Maybe some time
spent with him outside of church is needed and recommended. If you only read or
study what is taught, you will always be hungry, and just like the same roads,
the trip gets boring. Maybe just pick up your Bible and read it like a book,
with no study or pretense attached, and see where God takes you. Works for
rides too....
It will always be about the ride, for just as some own, only a few truly
ride. Only a few truly have the heart of motorcycling and get out and do it.
Same with Jesus, but he can change your heart if you let him. Take a longer
ride, go past where you used to turn around. Set out alone, don’t driven by the
pack, and see where the road takes you. Same with Jesus, go farther being
spirit driven, don’t just study, but spend time with God. Don’t just ask in
prayer, but listen too. Dump religion for the real thing, and find a freedom in
the spirit the Bible talks of and promises, but that religion won’t allow.
Break the rules and seek Jesus while you still can. You will find the freedom
exceeds Sunday and church limitations, and soon will be part of your life. When
Jesus changes you, the ride changes too. But like bench racing, some just hear
the stories while some are out making them. Why wait for the weekend when there
are five more days you can be riding?
Of course if you never get out and try, you will always have an audience of
others who make excuses too. Or think of it this way. On a 60,000 mile
motorcycle, at 60 mph, that is 1000 hours on the bike riding. In church years
that is almost 20 years of Sundays. There are rides and there are rides, when
the weekend ends, you don’t have to with it. Defeat PMS, Parked Motorcycle
Syndrome. Enjoy your week, if only there were just two days in the year,
Christmas and Saturday, how much different we all would be. Sundays too, will
never be the same!
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com