Encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
-1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NRSV)
THOUGH I enjoy bicycle riding, I have never been good at riding up hills. But there I was, bicycling up the steep foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to train for a race. As fatigue set in and the afternoon light began to fade, I knew that I would have a hard time finding my way back to our training camp in the dark. I was just barely turning the pedals when suddenly I felt a large, powerful hand in the middle of my back, accelerating me toward the summit. I turned around and saw the smiling face of one of our instructors at the camp. In a few seconds his powerful legs had propelled both of us back up to speed. The momentum and encouragement of just those few seconds of help carried me to the top of the hill and back into the pack of other homeward-bound riders before the darkness set in.
At dinner that night I learned that I was one of a number of riders who had received a boost we needed to make it to the top of the hill. What a beautiful picture this was to me of what the church should be! We can be God's strong and silent hand, helping those who are tired and searching for the way home.
