Keep Moving

5 Jul

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”Albert Einstein

Did you ever play the balance game?  We used to when I was young.  The neighborhood kids would gather together with our bikes and we would see who could stay upright the longest without moving the bike and without touching the ground with either foot.  It was a really arduous game.  It is hard to maintain balance on a bike if you do not have momentum on your side.  Quickly, you begin to lean left or right.  You have to torque a lot of muscles to try to keep upright but, eventually, you have to put your foot on the ground or risk falling.

It is that way in our spiritual lives as well.  There is no way that we can remain exactly where we are at.  If we do not move in our spiritual lives, we will fall.  There is no way to maintain balance.  That means that we can never be satisfied with the level of our prayer life, with the amount of time that we give to service projects, with the amount of time we spend reading the Bible or other spiritual reading, et cetera.  If we do not do more, we become like a stream that finds itself dammed up.  The waters back up and become brackish.  Before you know it, the waters have stagnated and do not support much life.

In order for our spiritual lives to be maintained and to flourish, we must do something about them, we must keep moving.  Then, we are like that stream that constantly has fresh water flowing into it and fresh water flowing out of it.  Not only does the stream remain fresh and clean and invigorating; but, it also provides fresh water downstream.

I have said before, and will always maintain, that we were not put on this earth for ourselves.  God made us for community, for His family.  We have a responsibility to one another.  It is only in reaching out to others — allowing the grace of God to flow through out lives — that we will remain fresh and vibrant.  If we try to keep the grace of God all for ourselves, we will stagnate spiritually.  Who wants to drink from a brackish pond?

FAITH ACTION:  Before you begin, look at your day and see if there are any obstacles that you will need to clear out of your way.