If You Start Fast You End Up Slow . . .

If you start fast you end up slow . . .

And if you start slow, you end up fast. This isn't always true, but it sometimes is. I've been encouraging some young adults in ministry this week. Numbers are strange things. They can encourage us when actually things aren't going well, and they can discourage us when things really are going well.

It doesn't seem like much was happening for Jesus when he was 22 years old, or 25, or even 29 years old.

If he was tempted in all the ways we are, I wonder if he ever had times when he felt as though he was on the slow track and all his friends seemed as though they were on the fast track. Here he was, still lugging lumber around and setting masonry in a small village, and he wasn't getting any younger.

Oh well, I've seen ministries that touched thousands in the beginning, but not many results came from them after a short while. I've also seen hidden ministries that worked with very few, and later, sometimes a lot later, what was done just took off beyond anyone's imagination. It's just the way things are sometimes.

What Would Happen to the World If . . .

What would happen to the world if . . .

People kept their promises.

What would happen if men kept their promise when they told a woman they loved her, and vice versa? What would happen if we really meant it when we said those words at the ceremony--for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. What would happen if we really kept our promise to God?

Much of our life is filled with the silly and absurd things we do, and a lot of it is just, well, laughable. But there is one serious thing we can do with our feeble little lives. We can keep a promise.

What would happen to our children if every family had a mother and father that kept their commitments? If daughters and sons were truly delighted in and respected?

Let's be honest. Each of us has broken promises. We have betrayed, as one writer put it, things more important than a country. No sense in pointing fingers--we are all in the same boat. Thank God for real forgiveness. Still, we can't go back and unscramble the eggs.

But we can go forward.

We have today.

What if we just kept our promises today?

A Lesson from Spinning

There’s power in a group.

I enjoy cycling. Several years ago I endeavored to cycle for a month by myself. Intending to travel from Boise to Yellowstone, I only made it to Idaho Falls.

Then, I yelled, “Mayday!”

Fortunately a friend from Boise came to my rescue and picked me up one week into my journey. I realized that I enjoy cycling but not cycling alone.

When I was getting ready for my month-long bike trek, I bought a trainer for my apartment. This is a device I can connect to my bike and cycle within the confines of my small living room. I tried it a few times, and now it sits in my closet. It was boring and I lacked motivation. Yet the other day, when I went to the gym, I did something similar. I got on a bike and pedaled. This time, though, was different from my apartment. I pushed myself; I enjoyed myself!

What was different? I was in a spinning class with a group of others doing the same as me. I found power in that group, power to endure despite pain and resistance.

This group wasn’t big, but I didn’t need it to be.