For exercise, to try and keep my heart in good physical condition, one of the things I do with some regularity is ride a bike. I’m a road cyclist, seasonally riding the streets of Sandy Springs and Buckhead (relax, it is EARLY in the morning—5:30ish—when few cars are on the roads, and I have multiple front and rear lights; you can’t NOT see me!). As a rather competitive soul, I have a computer on my bike that records my rides, and I keep a log at home in which I track my workouts. One of the things I watch is my average speed.
One of the problems I face is that the final quarter mile to my driveway has three hills, two of which are pretty steep and tough. They destroy my average speed. A quarter mile from home it can be one thing, and when I get home it has dropped by three miles an hour. Ugh.
I have learned through the years that it does not take much at all to erase progress, and once that progress is erased, it is a slog to regain it—not only on the bike, but in the life of faith.
Paul reminds the follower in Rome that it takes patience, diligence and humility to “keep the average up.” Self-centered attitudes and ungodly behavior do nothing to help us find the life we really want.