“The fruit of (the Lord’s) righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.“ Isaiah 32:17

“HOOOOOLEEEEEEE COWWWW! LOOK AT THAT!” Kate and I were heading south bound through a busy 4 lane section of 4 lane, U.S. 41 when he caught my eye. Though texting on is not legal while driving, he was doing it anyway! But I couldn’t decide if he was being heroic or crazy, because I had never seen ANYONE do it THAT way before. Paying to see him would have been worth it!

I was glad we caught the red light, since it gave us a chance to stop and stare at the approaching sight. The man was driving on a narrow path heading north, facing the 50 mph south bound lane. While cars zipped by him, he didn’t even notice! An old school wire ran from his phone to a set of earbuds. He was jamming as he held his phone up to his face… peddling a BIKE.. with no hands!

Looking back and analyzing the scene, I can say for certain that the man was experienced. There is NO way he could perform such a dazzling feat otherwise. Like everyone, he had to start at the beginning and learn how to peddle a bike, keep it upright and steer. There’s no doubt he had fallen many times, but he must have kept going because riding with no hands had to come next!

Becoming skilled at anything takes time. Falls and failures are a natural condition to learning, Bumps and bruises become a big part of the process. Becoming a Bible believing, Jesus following, fearless, confident warrior for Christ takes both time… and scars. And while lots of folks might think it crazy to identify as a ‘Warrior’ for Christ, ‘The Word’ is clear… that is EXACTLY what we are called to be!

It seems to me that back when I was a child, the old folks used to tell stories of how THEY did it to teach kids how it’s supposed to be done. “I used to walk 5 miles to school, in the snow, uphill, both ways!” Those stories taught me that perseverance and hard work were a necessary part of life. Today, I look at the world, dazed and confused at where it’s headed. And have only 1 thing to say.

I’m glad I’m not raising kids today. If I were, I’d be tempted to sell everything I own, find a big chunk of land, throw the cell phones and computers in the trash and simply isolate! But then… how would my kids survive when they ultimately faced the dangerous traffic of real life? So I look at that crazy bike rider and tell him the same thing I tell everybody… “You’d better have Jesus!” Bike on brother!

So… do you ride, walk or bike with Jesus everyday? If you do, it will be evident by your peaceful confidence!