A few weeks back, a motorcyclist in Iowa made a critical decision in his life. While traveling 89 mph in a 55 zone, the cyclist was spotted by an Iowa Patrolman. Instead of pulling over, the man had a not so bright idea. "I'll outrun them." He proceeded to accelerate his Suzuki Hayabusa to the eye-popping speed of 188mph as he swerved between cars, rode the shoulder and used thin dotted line between lanes on I29 to navigate traffic, and in the process, leave the squad cars behind. He thought he could escape. There was one little problem; the plane tracking him above.
The other day I was thinking about how exhilarating and frightening this ride must have been. I'm sure the rush of adrenaline this man experienced was beyond what we could imagine. But I wonder if he ever paused for a second to think how close to death he was? One foreign object on the shoulder, like a semi's tire tread, could send the bike and him out of control. An unexpected lane change from a car - one that was expecting a bike traveling at over 150mph - would spell disaster. Still the rider traveled all the way to Omaha where he thought he had found the perfect hiding spot. Again, he had not outran the plane.
After his arrest, the cyclist acknowledged that had he know that he would have been caught, he would have never tried to escape. Interesting hindsight, yet not very surprising. I doubt many criminals, after being caught, are thrilled with their decision to try and run and have no regrets even though they were unsuccessful.
This motorcyclist reminded me, oddly enough, of myself. Not because I like to ride motorcycles at speeds of 100mph (I've never even ridden a motorcycle). No, the reason this story reminded me of myself is because at one time in my life I tried to outrun God, which I found out is even crazier than trying to outrun an airplane. Following high school, I spent the first 4 years of my life trying to escape God's love for me. I wanted to go my own way and do my own thing. It took a while to realize that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't resist or escape God's plan for my life. I knew the truth about His love for me, and once I slowed down and accepted it, I regretted trying to run in the first place (although God has used those 4 years in many great ways).
Some might say, "you're a Pastor, that's different." But it's not. God's love is amazing and enduring for one person as it is to the next. He plays no favorites. He's just looking for the people who are willing to slow down and let Him into their lives. It takes humility, openness and us loving God back. Once that starts, you realize that running wasn't that fun after all.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20090806/NEWS01/708069818/0/FRONTPAGE
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