Cyclists often talk, think, and act as if life is primarily about legs, yet we all know that life is much richer. As Christians we know everyone is made in the image of God - heart, soul, mind, and strength - and we're made to love him, ourselves, and others.
“The Legs”
This may seem obvious, but you are more than legs.
Listen to any post-race interview from a professional cyclist and you’ll hear them talk about having or not having “the legs.” This most common expression for a bad ride betrays a thought that life consists primarily of our two legs spinning wheels and tires via transmission through crank, chain, and gears.
Yet, for those of us who are “into” bicycles and the act of riding them (you know who you are), how often do we act as if this one activity and the physiological systems and consumer-related goods that propel us in this endeavor are all that matter for our human existence?
A Piece of Who We Are
We are born into specific families in specific cultures at specific times in specific places. We’re in a specific stage of life. We’re a mother, an employee, a son, a boyfriend, a spouse, a construction worker, a volunteer, a student.
We also happen to ride bikes.
Riding a bike - being a “cyclist” - is a piece of who we are. Take away the bike and, while we may be missing something we enjoy and it might take some time to adjust, our identity should remain in tact.
At the same time we’ve found this avocation to be something unique. Bikes have a special way of transforming us and those around us. We’ve seen the bicycle as a catalyst to some seriously good personal life momentum, and we’ve seen bikes affect others similarly.
Whole-person: Heart, Soul, Mind, Body
If we take time to reflect, we inevitably come to know the truth that we are a whole person made up of a multitude of intertwined systems: mind, body, emotions, will, character. Some of us may even believe there’s something deeper and truer, something spiritual, even eternal about our selves. We know the truth, but if we were to have an outside bystander audit our actions, our behaviors would betray a different lived experience.
There is a difference between what we know in our minds and how we act with our whole person. Who we believe we are and what we love has a profound influence on our life and our experienced well-being. Much of this belief and worship revolves under the surface, churning our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions.
And, if you are a disciple of Jesus - a Christ-ian, an anointed one - you have heard the new commandment to love like Jesus 1, a new commandment that extends the age-old call to love God (with all of your heart, soul, mind, and everything you have) 2 and to love your neighbor in the same way you love yourself 3 - in the same way Jesus loves you. We are whole-persons: “heart, soul, mind, strength complexes designed for love.”4
We are adopted into the family and kingdom of God as sons and daughters.
We are temples of the Holy Spirit.
We are members of the body of Christ, each a unique sliver Of an unending mosiac making up a comprehensive image of God.
This identity is the foundation for everything in our lives, including our time riding bikes.
Footnotes
Footnotes
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John ch 13 v34-35 : “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” This is given from Jesus to the Apostles at the Last Supper - to love one another. Our love for our brothers and sisters in the church is how those outside the church will know that we are Jesus’s disciples. ↩
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Deuteronomy ch 6 v4-5: “Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the Lord is one, and as for you, you shall love the LORD your God with all of your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” BibleProject has a very approachable video word study series on this important Jewish prayer, a prayer Jesus likely prayed daily. ↩
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Mark ch 12 v 28-34, especially verses 29-31 where Jesus expounds upon “the greatest commandment,” providing a two-fold answer: “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ↩
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For a great delve into personhood as “heart, soul, mind, strength complexes designed for love” check out Andy Crouch’s The Life We’re Looking For. ↩