As I stated in my brief bio, I love to ride my motorcycle. I would enjoy it even more if I had a way to more comfortably share it with the lady that is the love of my life. When I say more comfortably, I mean that the back seat of my motorcycle is just not big and cushy like the front saddle and my wife Kerry gets uncomfortable sitting on it for more than about an hour. What is the solution? I guess I need to buy another motorcycle that has a big cushy back seat. :-D Is that going to happen any time soon? I don't think so, but it is a fun idea to contemplate.
We are having a real winter here on the front range of Colorado. It is the first real winter in close to a decade. Some of those who are newer to the area seem to be a bit overwhelmed by it, especially those accustomed to warmer climes. This real winter was preceded by an unusually wet late summer and fall. I explain this because it ties into the fact that my motorcycle has been sitting dormant in my garage for about five or six months now. During that time it has not been started.
Until yesterday.
The temperature here was almost 60, so I decided it was time to warm up the engine, circulate the oil, and see if the rubber would still roll. It took a couple minutes to get it started, but eventually it roared to life. I put on my leather jacket and went for a short ride. Then it all came rushing back…
There is just something inexplicably wonderful about getting out and riding my motorcycle. There is a sense of freedom that could almost be compared to being a bird in flight (albeit low flight), that comes from riding down a road on a motorcycle. Riding in a convertible car can provide a similar feeling, but it just is not quite the same because you still have a vehicle around you. A motorcycle is different that way; it is open to the surrounding world. With every turn and acceleration, every sensation heightens and the adrenaline pulses through the veins. It is a sensation that makes one feel very much alive. My words fail to do justice to the feeling of exhilaration I experience when I ride.
I started writing this because the revitalized feeling of freedom sparked something in me that I wanted to try to express:
God came in human form to set us free. Free from bondage. Free from the chains that hold us. I had been experiencing feelings of being chained up because the freedom to ride had been removed by rain and then cold and snow. In similar fashion there are chains and bondage that we allow to be put on ourselves when we let ourselves get outside of God’s will, when we sin (fall short of God’s glory). Like the rain and then the cold and snow of winter, falling short dampens our spirit and causes us to feel chained up. We can sort of see it, but we feel it is like the winter weather and there is nothing we can do about it. It's just that way we concede.
In reality and very much to the contrary of how we may feel, God gave us the ability to do everything about it because He gave us the ability to choose whether or not to stay in bondage. He provided for us the power to be those who overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimonies of Him. He states that we as believers are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ our Lord.
As I consider these things that God has done for us, I feel more exhilarated than I did yesterday when I was riding my motorcycle. Why? Because the freedom He provides is far greater than even the wonderful things He allows us to experience to gain a taste of His goodness.
