Today’s scripture: Matthew 6:25-34 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Theresa Benson):
Remember when you were learning how to ride a bike?
I started out with training wheels, and then came the day that my parents took them off and held on to the back of the seat as I wobbled down the street.
I were determined to be a BIG KID and ride a two-wheeler. Focused on staying upright and headed straight, I didn’t have time to worry about being laughed at. I remember my Mom telling me to look straight ahead and not at the pavement, and that I wouldn’t fall as much. You know what? She was right. And once I got going, I hadn’t a care in the world, and felt like I could go anywhere.
What happened to that child in all of us? How was it that I could learn to do something so scary — and with so much potential of wiping out?
And why am I so afraid of failing now?
Back then, it was because I knew that if I fell (and I did, many times), that Mom would be there to clean up the scrapes and put on Band-Aids and make it all better.
Life’s like that, I think. For a lot of our lives, we’re riding around with training wheels. We’re in our comfortable lives and feel safe. We might wish we could be one of the “big kids” who’s riding around without training wheels, living a purposeful, passionate, Christ-filled life, but that’s awfully scary from where we’re sitting.
God asks us to take off the training wheels and try doing things differently — doing God’s work here on earth — finding God’s purpose for our lives and living it to the fullest.
We might try it out a little bit, but we keep “focused on the pavement” rather than looking straight ahead and trusting that if we wobble and fall, God will be there make it better. So we decide to put the training wheels back on and stay in our comfortable lives, wishing we could be like the “other kids,” but sure we can never do it.
Today’s passage reminds me of what my Mom told me years ago. It’s God’s way of saying, “Keep focused straight ahead. Don’t worry about scraping your knee. If you do, I’ll be there and I’ll take care of you.”
So go on. Try something that you know God’s been calling you to do. And stop worrying — you’ll pick it up in no time.
It’s just like riding a bike.
Thought for the day: What “training wheels” am I still using? Is there some area where I need to learn to ride like a “big kid”?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.