This year’s Celebration of Life was an amazing experience just like it is every year. It is so cool to be at the finish line and celebrate with the missionaries as they complete their journey. At this year’s Celebration of Life, I witnessed three traits of God at work inside of our Biking for Babies community.
1. God’s Power
God is powerful, and there is no doubt about that from the first verses in the Bible. He creates the heavens and the Earth with His spoken word. He also rules over all things. He creates human beings from dust and from a rib. When He sees the crown of his creation, he announces that it is very good and that He is happy with what has been created.
Our missionaries demonstrated true willpower to complete the 600+ mile journey. At times, battling through the challenges like flat tires, heat, and tiredness can cause one to want to give up. Despite all of that, when our missionaries crossed the finish line, every one of them had a smile on their face. All the past troubles were forgotten; they had powered their way through all of them with help from prayer, committed teammates, and our strong Biking for Babies community. They were able to look back at the journey, say it is good, and be happy about what had been accomplished for those who cannot defend themselves.
2. God’s Love
Our God is the full embodiment of love. We can never comprehend the depth of His love for us. He is all-powerful and created the whole universe, yet He knew you in womb, answers every single prayer, and saves you from eternal damnation. He sent His Son, who died for us in the most brutal way, so we could be saved because He knew there was no way we could save ourselves. That’s how much our God loves us!
I saw God’s love at Celebration of Life this year. Although we cannot get close to the perfect love of God, it is beautiful when we see even a small amount of His love reflected in His people. After the missionaries crossed the finish line, they hopped off their bikes and went to their loved ones. Some of these people had traveled for miles to be there for a 3-hour celebration. They had given up a weekend at home to be at that finish live. Based on their faces, I don’t think one of them regretted it. They were so excited to see their loved one and to hear all the stories from the road. I hope that the people who happened to walk by our pavilion were able to see that love as a witness to the One who loves us, even though we break His heart by sinning daily.
3. God’s Righteousness
God’s righteousness is incredible. There is really no adjective in this world that can encompass it fully. By sending His Son to die on the cross, we receive eternal life. We are now sons and daughters of Christ and heirs to an eternal place with Him. What do we have to do to earn this? Nothing! This is a gift of God through His grace. We cannot earn it; it is freely and fully given to us. No matter how many times I hear or read that last sentence, I never grasp its impact.
Our missionaries looked tired, beaten down, and exhausted when they pulled in. They did all of the training, fundraising, and the entire ride for women they may never meet, for children they may never know, and for Pregnancy Resource Centers they may never visit. Compared to God’s work, it is small, but do not doubt the impact. When our missionaries freely give up a week of their summer to put themselves through a brutal challenge to provide resources to people or places that haven’t done anything to “earn” those gifts, it sends waves through our community. It impacts the people around them. I hope they bring that back with them to their hometowns and college campuses because that is how you change the culture of death into a culture of life!
The Celebration of Life is always beautiful. If you ever have the chance to go, I encourage it. You cannot avoid the boost your faith will receive from seeing God’s work through these young missionaries.
Support our mission of rebuilding the Culture of Life, one pedal stroke and one pregnancy resource center at a time by giving today: www.bikingforbabies.com/give.
