t-blog

I am a huge fan of cycling and the Tour de France. No, really. I’m a HUGE fan. I upgrade my cable package for just one month every year so I can watch every stage of the Tour live. In the last two decades, the Tour has given Americans a lot to cheer about. One man rose to the top of the cycling world, Lance Armstrong. To date, he has won seven Tours while pausing to overcome cancer and then made a comeback in 2009. Although he didn’t win in 2009, one thing is undeniable, he is the greatest cyclist of our era.

Now, not only am I a huge fan of the Tour de France, but I love to cycle. It’s the one thing that affords me both time for relaxation and physical training. Cycling has improved the quality of my life. Most of the time, I ride solo. But on occasion I team up with a friend or two. Several years ago I signed up and rode in the Ride Across Indiana (RAIN). They’ve held the race for many years and boast One Day, One Way, One-Sixty (miles). I learned something very critical on that all day ride.

I learned that I could go faster for longer periods of time if I jumped into a pace line or a train of riders and stayed there. You see all of the riders in a train share the work and as a result, they all benefit and have the chance to finish the race sooner.

If you study any of Lance Armstrong’s 7 Tour wins, you will find that he didn’t do it alone. He had a team around him to propel to the finish by using the pace line. The Christian life is a lot like cycling and the pace line. The writer of Hebrews describes the Christian’s pace line as a “great cloud of witnesses.” That pace line is there to propel you to the finish line sooner and sustain you longer in 2010. Today, take five minutes to read Hebrews 12:1-2 and list some of the names of the people in your pace line (past & present) and set your eyes on the finish line.