Life Lesson from Brake Pads

If you have been reading my blog at all, you know I get "random" thoughts while doing every day tasks. Well, this week I had to get new brake pads for my bicycle. As I had been commuting to work the previous few days, I had to squeeze harder and harder on the brakes. I decided to take it to the bike shop on Wednesday to see if the brakes could be tightened.

The bike mechanic asked how old the bike was. When I replied, "4 months," he responded it already has lots of miles on it. I reported that it was my main transportation. He proceeded to tell me that I needed new brake pads. He asked if I wiped my wheels down. He continued to share that dirt accumulates and acts like sandpaper contributing to faster wear of the brake pads. He also informed me the brake pads that come with the bike are soft on the scale. He put on firmer/thicker pads which should last longer.

Upon finishing up at the bike shop, I rushed to a happy hour with friends and promptly forgot to wipe down my tires. Today, a rainy Saturday, I took the time to do so. While I was, the following thoughts came to mind. From a bird's eye view, the roads and bike paths do not appear particularly dirty. The wheels, however, pick up dirt simply by turning over and over in the environment. Rain does not wash the dirt off. It takes a purposeful wiping to remove it.

We are like this. We try to live in the world but not of the world. Simply by performing our daily activities of grocery shopping, driving, working, interacting with friends and families, we accumulate dirt. We see the hurt, the sad situations, the difficult interactions among people, become frustrated with ourselves. We sin. Like the rims, we may not appear "dirty" on the outside.

The sin in our individual lives and corporate lives, however, is like sand paper to our minds and spirits. It wears us down. With time, it breaks us down so we cannot function no matter how hard we try to push through life.

The good news is that Jesus knows this and has come to live among the sinners and tax collectors. Because he lived in the sinful world and did not sin, his death and resurrection give us the ability to clean our rims/lives from sin.

Like the wheel rims, we have to be wiped and washed by the blood of Jesus. It is only by addressing the sin by confessing it and repenting that we receive new brake pads/ new life from Jesus. If we are not vigilant in "cleaning" the dirt/sin off we will wear down quickly. Well, I guess that sums up my random thoughts for today.