In fact, I never really understood why anyone would want to run.
Being chased by a knife yielding gang member-ok
Playing a game- fine
Run for the joy of running? Not interested.
You never see pictures or video of people smiling while running. They’re always sweaty, unhappy looking and red…
Not appealing.
I've ran once.
It was the summer after my jr. year of high school. There was this girl that I had a crush on and I wanted to impress her. There was a gathering at her house one night and I slept over. For some reason, I decided to tell her that I got up early to go run every morning… I have no idea where that lie came from, but she seemed impressed so I went with it.
Thankfully, I had just bought my first ever pair of running shoes, because I thought they looked cool... and they were on the clearance rack... I certainly had no intention of actually running in them…
but the females…
they have power…
Anyway, early the next morning I reluctantly awoke. I tried to stay quiet and not wake anyone up. I hoped that I could fake it. But no! Apparently they are a family of early wakers, because both her and her dad we wide awake and wanted to watch me run off.
So I got outside and started to stretch out… it sunk in… I was really gonna go for a jog… I glanced up to see father and daughter happily waiting in the large bay window watching be begin my journey.
I started down the driveway. A drive never seemed so long, but there I was on it.
Running.
I ran until I knew I was out of their sight. After doubling over in out-of-shape pain I realized that I was out there in the country, so I figured I might as well do something. So I started to jog/walk (emphasis on walk) down some meandering country roads. The sun had just risen and there was a pretty dew on the fields… it was actually pretty serene. However, I got so caught up in the moment, that after 15 minutes or so, I realized I had no idea where I was! I was completely and totally lost! Everything looked the same. I wondered for at least another 45 minutes, until I finally saw her car coming. So I started running again. All cool-like.
Her grey Toyota sped toward me at break-neck speed. She was frantic! She thought I had a heart attack!! Her dad was going to call the cops I was gone so long!
Needless to say she didn’t seem too impressed anymore. And, at the end of the day, it didn’t work out between us… we never dated and I never ran again….
Philippians 3:10-14
10I want to know Christ and the power of his
resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him
in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect,
but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing
I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on
toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in
Christ Jesus.
When Paul wrote these verses, he had been a Christian for many years. He had grown in the knowledge of Christ
He went from killer and persecutor of Christians to the most revered apostle of His time and most revered missionary of our time. As he wrote this letter to the Philippians, he was in chains, losing his personal freedom for the cause of Christ Jesus. He had not yet “arrived” spiritually or reached the goal of Perfection. He was still in a sinful world. He was still a sinner: still troubled by weakness, still burdened by his failings as a human being.
Though he was a child of God by faith, he had not yet arrived at the point where he could perfectly and uninterruptedly serve God or enjoy the fullness of the blessings God had in store for him. That would have to wait till he entered Heaven. Meanwhile he lived his life in a constant striving for holiness. He relentlessly pressed on toward the goal of Paradise- putting his not-so-great past behind him and fully focusing on the goal of Heavenly perfection before him.
Paul’s outlook on life should really echo our own-
I don’t think anyone I know has killed Christians…
Maybe I don’t want to know if you have…
But how many have lied, cheated, and stolen? How many are holding grudges? Spreading rumors, and making fun of others? How many are giving in the world’s pressure of sexual immorality and indulgence? How many have things in our pasts that we don’t want anyone to find out?
Let the words of Paul resound in your hearts and minds, dear redeemed!
Forgetting what is behind
Straining toward what is ahead
Press on toward heaven.
What is done is done
It’s time that is gone
It’s actions and words that cannot be taken back
We bring them to the cross
And rest in the promise and assurance that all sins everything- every thing- big or small
Are all washed clean in the blood of Jesus
They are forgotten by God
Now we can let them go as well
Put it behind us- along with the guilt and shame
It’s all washed clean on the cross
Then we can fix your eyes on Jesus as we strain toward the goal. Notice the word “straining” Paul uses to describe our lives- it’s not skipping or meandering- it’s straining- like you see people when they’re in a race- they’re working hard; pressing on.
That’s our life-
Hard, hot, sweaty, tough.
Not always easy, not always pleasant.
We cramp up, we hurt, we fall.
But thanks be to God that when we do fall, we fall into nail-marked hands of our Savior Jesus. With His arms spread wide open waiting to embrace us and tell us job well done.
Success in an athletic competition depends not only on ability and conditioning,
But also on an athlete’s mental state.
Concentration is key. Over confidence, lack of mental alertness or mental toughness can cost an athlete dearly
Spiritual dullness, overconfidence and lack of concentration can likewise cost Christians
Paul urges us in Phil 2:12 to never stop working at our salvation. If we don’t concentrate on living the Christian life the Lord wants us to live- our SANCTIFIED lives- Holy lives- set apart as His children, like an over confident athlete, we could be eliminated from the race and the goal and prize of God’s blessings lost.
We’ve all see the footage of the football player or sprinter that looks back to see what’s behind him and then goes off course or trips in the open field. Taking our eyes off the prize can be costly.
Hebrews 12:2, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith”
May we never loose sight of the wonderful cross, and never forget the pain, torment, and blood it took to give us the gift of heaven.
Perfection will not be ours here on earth- but we resolve nonetheless to live as Christ wants us to live, and as the Holy Spirit gives us strength:
With pure hearts and minds.
With eyes fixed on Jesus.
Thoughts, words and deeds rooted in the cross.
Just as running and lifting builds endurance in an athlete, so too digging deep into the Word of God and living lives as Christ’s ambassadors gives us spiritual endurance and bolsters our saving faith.
Believe that, my dear friends! Our steps are determined by the Most High. Our futures are in His hand. Press on, keep on running- straining toward that goal of heaven!!
My one and only brush with running was fake, all a farce to impress a girl. I had no endurance. No real desire. No lung capacity. No goal in mind. No idea where I was going. It was a lost cause… literally.
Don’t let that be you in your faith life. Don’t fake it.
Don’t just say the things the people around you want to hear. Don’t aim to please for the sake of pleasing. The race you’re running is a personal one-on-one with God.
It’s real, He is living. His sacrifice was once and for all. Now our lives are to be a reflection of the love he showed us on the cross. Live for him because he died for you!! Our relationship with Jesus is personal, intimate- we are his beloved! The finish line is in Paradise. We don’t know when the race will end, so we must keep running!
Keep striving! Keep straining! The course long, but the Lord’s mercy is wide
ARE YOU LIVING?
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My
richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my
God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His
blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow
mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so
rich a crown?
His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body
on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead
to me.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far
too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all
Lord grant us the endurance to run the race so that you will be glorified in our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment