As I write this, I’m looking out of the study window and (if I’m being totally honest) dreaming of being somewhere else!!
You see, the sun is shining, it’s a beautiful day and it’s a hot one!!! For me, that means one thing – it’s a perfect motorbiking day!!! I’m sure by now you’re getting a bit fed up of hearing about motorbikes – but when you’re passionate about something, you can’t help talking about it can you? (I’ll come back to that point later).
Anyway, I can’t get out on the bike this week, its too busy plus I was lucky enough to have a fantastic day last Friday (my day off) with some good friends riding around Wales. I want to share with you a story about that day.
We had covered 250 miles and were on our way home, heading into Bala when suddenly a warning light appeared on my dashboard. I pulled in at the lakeside café, jumped off the bike and looked down. I was horrified to see the engine coolant pouring out of a badly cracked hose. It was like a volcanic eruption!!!!! A large stone must have hit the metal pipe and split it. By now it was 5.15pm on a Friday night. What on earth were we going to do? We tried gaffer tape around the crack, but that failed. So by now at 5.30pm we decided to dismantle the offending pipe and 2 of my friends rode into nearby Bala to see if they could somehow get it repaired. At this time on a Friday, we didn’t hold out much hope. But being committed Christians, we all said a little prayer that God would help us out!
Amazingly, as my friends arrived in Bala, they asked some locals for help, who pointed them in the direction of the local Blacksmith! He wasn’t there and the Smithy was shut. That’s when another passing local said to try the pub! In they walked and were introduced to the local Blacksmith, who being a biker himself, was only too happy to put his pint down and promptly return to his smithy and weld the broken pipe. Half an hour later, I was back on the road – all fixed!
Why am I sharing this story with you? well for three reasons.
1, God answers prayer. On a Friday night 5.30pm, a Blacksmith who had finished work for the week, opened up his workshop and completed a job out of the goodness of his heart. I firmly believe that was an answer to our prayer. God led us to this man – that’s not a coincidence! (Philippians 4: 6 ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God’).
2, I’ve broken down twice before on my motorbike, once in the country and once on the motorway. Both times it was a lonely and frightening experience. This time was very different. At no point was I worried or afraid. Why? Because I was surrounded by good friends who I trust whole heartedly. I knew they would not leave me on my own and together we would work out a solution. As I reflected on this, surely this is how the church should function. As brothers and sisters in Christ, this is how we should look after each other, and help each other. As Christians we should never feel alone, we are part of a church family, that word ‘family’, means we are related, united. We should care for each other in a deep way but also in practical ways too. Do you play your part? (Galatians 6: 10 ‘So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith’).
3, ‘I can’t stop talking about it!’ As you’ve already gathered, I’m passionate about bikes and will ‘occasionally’ talk about them! In the last week I’ve told the above story to lots of people. When you’re passionate about something you want to share it. You know as Christians we have the best story to share, we have the best news to share. It’s the Good news of Jesus Christ, its life changing, its powerful and its real! We should be so passionate about our faith that we can’t stop telling people about it. I wonder when did you last tell someone about your faith? When did you last talk about Jesus? When did you last invite someone to church? As Christians let’s get passionate about our faith and lets start sharing it with others! (Mark 16: 15 ‘And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation”).
By the way, the picture is my bike – which is well and truly back on the road!!!!!