Jesus’ Bike Was Too Small.
Small wheels, short cranks, and low gear ratios make for a slow bike no matter how fast you pedal. Perhaps you’ve jogged alongside a four year old on her first bike. She’s cranking her legs off and you can still pretty much keep up. But if you get on your adult bike and try to pedal alongside her you find that you can’t quite go slow enough. And it’s not fun. And biking is supposed to be fun.
My youngest is at this stage. When she’s on her bike she’s too fast for me to comfortably walk with and if I get on my bike I’m too fast. Either way there’s too much distance between us. So I made a new bike. And it leveled the playing field.
When I ride my tiny bike I am slow. I am limited. But I get to be alongside my daughter. (Okay, I’ll admit, in this video I barely keep up with her…) And that’s super fun. A part of me gets to be a kid again. The thought of getting on a bigger faster bike is wonderful, but only because I know I still have this little bike available too.
I think in a way Jesus is God’s way of riding a tiny bike. God was tired of the distance and wanted to ride alongside us all the way to the end. Today is Maundy Thursday. The day we remember Jesus’ command to follow his example. One way we do this is by loving and welcoming others unconditionally. Gay, straight, black, white, smart, dumb, democrat, republican, this, that, and the other. We ride side by side. And in a way I feel that in this act of loving others we give Jesus an opportunity to ride that all too small bike once again. And I think he loves it. And I think it levels the playing field.