Not long ago, our family took a bike ride. A new phase for us in biking involves Kate, our 6-year-old riding along on her own two-wheeled bike. In biking, and in all things, she is eager to be out on her own, independent, but making sure that her safety net (in this case, her daddy rollerblading right beside her and expertly avoiding near collision every two seconds) is close by just in case she decides she needs it.
AJ, on the other hand, during this bike ride was snugly tucked into the Burley bike trailer, with a few stuffed animals and her blankie and was completely content to sit back and be pulled along. In biking, as in life, she has shown much less need to be independent and resourceful, but remains content to be the baby of the family.
And if we're being honest, Mom has been content with that too!
Ever since this bike ride, where I saw my children's personalities personified on two wheels, I have been reflective on growing up. More specifically on being so proud of Kate as she takes leaps and bounds towards maturity on a weekly basis (with the occasional regression to two-year-old tantrums for no apparent reason) and on needing to encourage (and allow) AJ to take some more steps toward independence.
Our spiritual journeys are not so unlike our natural progression and development. And we can just as easily fall into the different categories that my two very different girls find themselves in.
One category is the highly independent category and forging ahead at full speed. At first blush this seems great and like the right way to go. But God never wants us to be out ahead of him or so independent that we don't need him. Even my independent Kate as described above, is really only independent on her bike when she knows her Daddy is right there with her. At each intersection she panicked a little and needed the reassuring and steady hand of her expert rollerblader Daddy to help her stop and stay steady before forging on again. So independence and a desire to be moving forward is good only in so much as we acknowledge that without God we are like an awkward 6 year old learning to ride a 2 wheeler. Without that acknowledgement we really are in our place of needing to grow up by acknowledging our weaknesses and our need for God.
On the other hand, we have those that might be content to receive salvation, the gift that God has graciously given us, and then to somewhat coast through life. The writers of the New Testament spend a lot of time writing about this topic of maturing and growing up.
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity
Ephesians 4:11-16 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves,and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
In the scriptures above, the concept is specifically addressed, and in many others the idea is more implied but the concept of growing, maturing, deepening our knowledge and our relationship with Christ, while also letting go of the things of the past (or those things that were more immature) is apparent.
As for applying these reflections and this wisdom I have a few thoughts.
Are you someone that is trying to outrun God? Are you running out before Him, not being patient to wait and listen for his direction and thus also outrunning his sustaining safety net?
Are you someone that has been content to be somewhat swept along with life, tossed back and forth by the waves (or the whims of the world, or the bumps of a Burley) and not established roots in a growing knowledge of God? If so you may feel safely secure but the roots of growing in Christ help you stay grounded and not be swept up and caught up in things that take you down the wrong path. You also may miss out on so much of the beauty and experiences that life has to offer. If AJ spends her whole life in a Burley imagine how much she is missing by only being able to see the small view from the confines of her shaded window shade and how many experiences she is missing by not taking a more active part in the journey.
Both are dangerous places to be and require us to submit fully to God and to commit to growing up in Him. Growing up through surrounding yourself with a community of believers who will help you grow, through personal times of study and prayer, and through stretching yourself to go and do. The life of a Christian is one that we are called to go and do, to love, to give, to lead, to teach, to share Christ everywhere. Each time we step out into these situations, in obedience and submission to Christ, we continue to grow and learn. It is a beautiful cycle...one I don't want to deny to my children and one I don't want to get away from myself.
At the risk of overdoing a point and mixing analogies, horsemanship provides a good picture of what it looks like to walk along with God in growing up.
When you lead a horse, you don't want to be out in front dragging the horse along. Often times this will cause a horse to stop in its tracks and go nowhere. You also don't want to be too far behind a horse being drug along well because that's just not safe and because your job is to lead not to be led!
Rather, if you are leading a horse you should walk right alongside, almost instep with the horse both urging it forward and holding it back from going too far ahead at the same time.
This is where God desires to walk alongside of you: right beside you. The irony is that God is right there walking and knows the right pace to walk and the right place to stand. Our job as the horse (yup you read that right) is to not be too quick and to not allow ourselves to be drug, but to submit, obey, and trust...and in the process to grow up.
