Running the Race
This morning I did something new. I went jogging with a friend. OK, that’s not too profound. Many people thoroughly enjoy jogging and running as ways to stay in shape and stay positive (endorphins, w00t!). The last time that I jogged for more than five minutes (the time it takes me to sprint to the next bus-stop when I’m running late) was in high school. Why the sudden interest? The LDI 5k fundraising race is coming up and I plan to give it my best. The plan is to raise at least 5,000 dollars for the small program by having each sponsored runner acquire $100 dollars in pledges. As a current LDI intern (Trek 1) I definitely want to do my part and that means being able to run a 5k in the first place.
Anyways, all of this got me thinking about the often-used metaphor of the Christian life. You’ve heard it before, right? Run the race (Hebrews 12:1). Running is a challenge. But it’s also more than that. Sometimes I think we as Christians focus too much on the race-track and the finish time. We imagine that the starting gun is about to go off and then…bam! We’re off. Well, though the Christian life can often be very exciting, I think we also need to consider the condition of our heart and body before we run. Running any race requires that we consider the cost involved beforehand. An Olympian trains their body for countless hours before setting foot on the track which will decide if they get a medal. All of this training is not necessarily exhilarating, but it is vital. In the same way, we are meant to train ourselves to be better followers of Christ. We need to be in community, study his word and practice spiritual disciplines before crisis and temptation occurs. Even when things are going “alright” (which itself could be a faulty assumption based on our perspective) we are called to more than the mundane. We are called to equip ourselves, train ourselves and in many other ways respond to the Spirit’s work in our lives.
All of the above assumes of course that we have already received the call to follow Christ. We can only make spiritual commitments like this when we know that our relationship with God has been established. We can’t ever do this work on our own, but we can place our faith and trust in Christ and know that his sacrifice on the cross has paid for our sins. Once we have such a faith, running the race becomes a whole lot easier because we know that the end is already certain.
