E.I.N.T.K.I.L.F.M.M.B.

Stands for: everthing I need to know I learned from my mountain bike. Which is proving to be true. Lesson ala bike for the day: the Bible.

After months of pedaling away in the balcony of World Gym, it was finally warm enough (and reasonably dry enough) for a bike ride today. I decided to try a loop starting from my house that I figured would provide a good dose of exercise. It ended up being a great ride; I discovered a pedestrian bridge over the interstate (one less nasty intersection to navigate), and though I had expected the Santa Fe trail to be pretty dry, I got a good dose of my favorite kind of terrain--mud. Mud which I didn't make an effort to brush off before coming in the house, and which I imagine is getting all over everything as I type this.

The difference between riding a bike at the gym and riding outside is beyond compare. In the gym, it is all about checklists. Made it to the gym for the day, check. Cardio for a certain length of time, check. Burned a certain number of calories, check. Set the level pretty high, check. Working out inside is just plain discouraging and boring most of the time.

Outside, however, checklists have nothing to do with it. Out on the trail it is about the burn in my muscles as I push myself up a hill, and the wind in my face when I go down one. It is about navigating terrain, getting dirty, and going just a little father simply for the sake of exploration. It's about pushing hard so that I can push farther the next time, about knowing my metabolism is kicking, about the fact that my body will be ready for rest tonight--about feeling healthy, but only as a byproduct of enjoyment. Even if there was a checklist, it would probably look something like this: Didn't waste a warm day, check. Did not quit on a single hill, check. Got as muddy as possible, check. Found a new trail, check. Laughed out loud as I rode, check.

But the Bible...yes, back to my point. We've all heard it said before, but reading the Word can become a bit like a checklist. It can be like an indoor workout. Read my Bible today, check. Covered at least one chapter, check. Underlined a few things, check. Even if we don't mean to do it this way, even if we really want to grow with Jesus, we sometimes let ourselves end up there. Just trying to stay in decent shape and fit into our image.

The Bible should be about so much more than that! It should be about the challenge of pushing our ways through trial, knowing we are building muscle, and the sweet wind of relief when God opens the floodgates of blessing. It should be about enjoying the journey, getting a little dirty, laughing as we go. Scripture should be alive in us, getting our metabolism kicking, causing us to grow in perseverance and Christlikeness. Reading the Word of God should be the most thrilling ride we will ever take.

And I mean really, even if there was a checklist, it should probably look something like this:

Allowed the Spirit room to radically change my life today, and fell a little more in love with Jesus, check.