Have you noticed the increasing numbers of bicyclers on the roads lately? Their commitment to fitness is to be applauded, their commitment to fashion mocked.
Waves of these spandex-wrapped nerds converge on the suburban streets, like a scourge of locust advertising for their nonexistent sponsors via matching bike jerseys that are always three sizes too small.
For some reason I can get over most of this ritual, but not those jerseys.
We can all agree the jersey itself doesn’t make them better cyclists, right? Lord knows you need years of practice and several hundred syringes full of EPO for that. Yet they *all* wear them, *every* time they are on their bikes.
Saturday after Saturday competing in the of Tour De Dork, riding in packs of 20 perched on $2,000 steeds simultaneously impeding both traffic and blood flow to their genitals.
They are “all-in” hardcore bikers— for exactly two hours each week on Saturday.
In a word… posers
Sometimes I feel like us Christians fall into the same trap. Only our jerseys are called church.
We do whatever we want six days a week and it is all wiped away on Sunday. Prayer, reflecting on scripture and serving others are the exception, not the rule during our week. Spiritual discipline is defined simply getting up early on Sunday, staying awake during the sermon, singing a few songs and housing a donut afterward.
We are Christian posers.
90% Bruce Wayne and only 10% Batman.
Just because Grace is free doesn’t mean it is without value, yet we consistently take it for granted and live as functional atheists. The extent of our faith life spent at church, posting scripture on FaceBook and voting Republican.
Christ would laugh at that, He might even cry. In the bible He calls us to an active Faith.
Leave everything you have, lay down your nets and follow Me.
He meant not only your nets, but also your baggage…maybe even your bike jersey.
1. Have you heeded the call? How? If not, what’s stopping you?
2. What do you need to lay down for a deeper walk with Christ?
3. Do you own a bike jersey and care to defend it?
Raise Your Ebenezer 
I’d like to think I live a moralistic life but don’t attend church. Not sure it can be described as Christain life given my struggle with faith. What keeps me from heeding the call? I think I’ve found a comfort zone in doing things well but not “putting myself out there” to be truly great at anything. Maybe that carries over to faith. It’s easier and more comfortable to not put myself out there.
I sure don’t think you have to go to church to be a believer, but I think spiritual discipline helps. And spending time in community is an important discipline outlined in the bible. Small groups are better than church even, but spiritual growth involves testing, studying, learning. Worship, evangelism, discipleship, fellowship. All are easier with the infrastructure a church provides.
I hated the Tour de Dorks too until I started seeing a familiar jersey that may come from my place of biz. Now I enjoy seeing the 250 lb man squeezed into spandex and a jersey half zipped to express how hard that 2 mile ride was walking through Excelsior in uncomfortable looking shoes with a Latte extra fat in one hand and a 750 calorie “power bar” in the other. It’s beautiful man, enjoy it!
The devil enjoys keeping us so busy that we don’t get a chance to have a deeper walk with Christ. Therein lies the challenge, taking that hard step to free up your schedule to “talk” with God and study his word. As Mize noted, the community that comes with a Bible study group goes a long way to help with that reflection.
“Every time I see an Adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” – H.G. Wells