Swords and Bikes

Use something often enough, and the foreign becomes familiar to you.

A sword is a mighty weapon, used to bring foes to their knees. King David was a man after God's own heart, but he was also a mighty warrior. After felling Goliath, he went on to lead Israel's armies into battle time and time again, excelling in every conquest he undertook. He used his sword often, and it was not foreign to him. 

Now, I know nothing of swords, but I do really enjoy bike riding. A bike, when you are first learning to ride, is a difficult thing to master. Balance, speed, and direction are all used as you ride. Remove balance, and you fall. Remove speed, and you don't go anywhere. Remove direction, and you don't end up where you want to go. All three must be present to ride a bike. And all three - balance, speed, and direction - are controlled by the rider.

The rider has five, sometimes four, contact points with the bike. Each contact point helps direction (handlebars), speed (pedals), or balance (seat). The rider and bike are intimately connected. As one learns to ride, they soon learn how their own individual bike rides. They'll understand it's strengths and weaknesses, and use this knowledge to their own advantage. If you put a rider in a bike race with a brand new cycle, they are almost certain to lose. The rider MUST know their bike well.

When I go bike riding, I am not focused on speed, balance, and direction anymore. My bike and I become one entity; man and machine working together in effortless, efficient harmony. We don't disagree over matters, and we don't fight over where we are going or what we are doing. The bike submits to my will, and melds with my body. My bike has literally become an extension of me, and I enjoy every moment I get to spend on it. 

There are some parallels to be drawn between swords and bikes. Once one is familiar with their sword, a replacement is never good enough. The swordsmen will know the ins and outs of their sword better than anyone else, and can use it to it's most effective. Sword and man become one; the sword is a literal extension of the man. The swordsman is not worried about his swings or his timing, but rather he knows what he must do to stay alive. He does not analyze, but FEELS the battle out. A sword becomes a man's life in battle, because without it, he would be defenseless.

"Through You we drive back our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies. For I do not trust in my bow, and my sword does not bring me victory. But You give us victory over our foes and let those who hate us be disgraced." - Psalms‬ ‭44‬:‭5-7‬ (HCSB)

However, here David speaks of not trusting his sword. A sword is the closest thing to a friend one has in battle, because both sword and master know each other incredibly well. It is strange that David would say that he does not trust in his sword, until you realize where David's hope IS placed.

David realizes that God is the One who brings victory. He is the only One who can win the battles in our lives! And, even more so than his sword, David was intimately connected and knowledgable of his God. God was not foreign, but rather familiar, because David called upon God often. And every time David trusted in God, he won the battle through God's strength.

Jesus called us to love others, and this is perhaps the greatest battle we can fight.

We must fight for love. Love is not complacent, but it gets up and does things. We often suppress love due to fear, or doubt, or angst, or even a misunderstanding of what love is. Society today teaches that love is an emotion. That we can feel love and when we 'love' someone, we should date them. Simple. But love isn't a feeling. So society goes a little deeper and teaches that love is acceptance. I love you, you love me, you do you and I do me. As long as I don't press my beliefs on others, all truth is relative and love will abound. Yeah, right.

If truth was relative, we wouldn't face hardship or pain. I could just wish the bad stuff away, and POOF! it'd be gone. If love abounded, bullying, persecution, porn, rape, murder... it all wouldn't happen. But love DOESN'T abound, in fact, it is found in the battle. We learn more and more about our God and grow closer to Him because that's when we'll learn to submit ourselves to His will. He'll use us like a sword, because He knows us extremely well, and bring love into the world. He'll fight to rekindle the flames of life in dead and broken hearts. And we get to be His tool!

Before we can be used effectively, we must grow close to our God. We must know Him. We must not be foreign, but familiar. In order to live it like Jesus, we must first KNOW Jesus. And God will bring about the victory, not our own tools or devices. Put our faith and trust in Him, and we will succeed in the battle for love. Our faith is not in our sword, or our speech, or our actions. For although effective, we do not know how to use them. Our faith is in Christ, who backs our speech and actions and gives them POWER. We are sure to succeed when He is by our side.

As you finish out this week, remember the battle you face. Remember to love those around you, not through what you say or do, but through the Jesus you know. Let Him use you as He sees fit. Our God is unchanging, so He'll help you live in the same way Jesus did. 

#LiveItLikeJesus