Jesus & the Tandem Bicycle

Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel, and acting in faith means that we trust Him.

There is a little story by an unknown author of the bicycle built for two and it is an excellent example of how we struggle to control our lives rather than trusting God and allowing God to take the lead.
 
When I decided to give my life over to the care of Christ it seemed as though I was riding a tandem bicycle with Christ pedaling on the back seat. I kept steering the bike as best as I could. It was a hard and rocky road. So I kept pleading for Christ to pedal harder to help me make it through the dangerous areas. There were treacherous corners, steep mountains, large rocks and deep holes on the road I was traveling. Because of the complexity of the path I kept crashing the bike and running off the road. I kept getting injured and I often lost hope that I could follow such a difficult path.
 
After several serious mishaps, Jesus asked, 'Might I steer for a while?' Reluctantly, I agreed and climbed on the back of the bike and began pedaling as best as I could. I watched in wonder as to the new way that Christ maneuvered the bicycle through the obstacles on the path. He was able to navigate through every danger ahead. If I ever felt frightened He would lean back and touch me with comforting assurance. When I needed rest, He would stop pedaling to give me living water and the bread of life. He guided me to places and people who helped me gain knowledge, healing, acceptance and joy. Now I understand, the power of the tandem bike is to let Christ do the steering and when I think that maybe I can’t do it anymore, Christ always smiles at me and reminds me to keep pedaling.
Dear readers please enjoy and take to heart this story from my archives. 
                                          ~ Fr. Al Jewson