FINDING YOUR PACE

So there we were, in the early morning freezing on a bridge on the far side of Canada with a long race before us. To make matters worse, I made the mistake of thinking they were going to serve us a light breakfast, so I told Amy not to eat anything at the hotel. The words of my football coach rang out in my ears, “A hungry dog hunts best,” but Amy was about ready to gnaw my arm off. Thousands of people huddled together with us on that bridge, trying desperately to somehow shield ourselves from the cutting wind that blew off the river. Amy occasionally cast me a glance that said, This was not your brightest idea! I agreed. We could have been enjoying fresh pastries at one of the downtown bistros. Instead, we were waiting to start a race I wasn’t even sure we could finish. As I waited for that blasted gun to go off, I tried to get myself pumped up for the undertaking. One of those techno dance numbers was being pounded into the crowd and it was so loud the bass reverberated through my brain. Thump, thump, thump, thump! I had to get myself focused so I began to think of any famous runners I knew. I didn’t know any. Hmmm. Then I remembered the apostle Paul. I love Paul. Maybe it is because I am a guy or maybe because I grew up on sports and competition, but he uses language that really gets me going. I look at Paul as just a no-nonsense guy; what you see is what you get with Paul. Sure, he had some rough edges, but he wasn’t consumed with himself. Rather, he was focused on the life of Christ and fulfilling all the Lord had in store for him. It was Paul who, as he was summarizing his life’s work, tells us in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (It is hard for me to hear these words without picturing Al Pacino in the movie Scent of a Woman shouting “Hoooaaah!” Or hearing Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor in the show Home Improvement barking, “Aooourrrgh! Aooouuurrgh!”) Paul’s words strengthened me. I mean, if Paul finished the race, if he fought the good fight, if he kept the faith until the end despite all the torture he went through, well then I could persevere through this little race as well. After all, Paul was just a man as I was a man. Granted, he did witness God and was named an apostle, but in the end, he was made of flesh and blood just like I am. With the race starting, I knew I may have to overcome some pain and suffering of my own. By that point, however, one thing was for certain… I was going to see this race through to the end. Finally, the starting gun went off and the hordes crawled off the bridge and spread out onto the road. Soon into mile one, I winked at Amy but it was to cover the fact that I realized it was going to be a long, grinding, endeavor. Truth be known there is not a lot to do in a race like this. For a short while, you enjoy seeing the sites, and there are certain areas where the spectators’ shouts of support really get you going. As far as activity goes, though, you just make sure you stay upright and keep your legs moving. I have friends who run for a lot of different reasons. Some enjoy the feel —the endorphins kicking in, the wind blowing in their hair, being outside. I do not fall into that group. I was not at a point where it was about the experience; it was just about getting to the end while limiting the damage to my body. By mile two I was already huffing and puffing too heavily to talk to my wife so I decided to let my mind explore a little further regarding the scripture I had used to get me motivated. In 2 Timothy, Paul is obviously not talking about running a literal 5K or some marathon, but instead, he was speaking about the proverbial race of life. As I pondered that context, I marveled at the apostle. What a life Paul led. By all worldly standards there was a guy who was at the top of his game; he was highly educated, he ran with the right crowd (the Pharisees), he came from a good lineage (he was a Benjamite, and a Roman Citizen), and not to mention he had a high profile job persecuting those troublemaking Christians who upset both Israel and Rome’s apple carts. Obviously, Paul had a divine course correction, but he clearly went all in on whatever he was tasked with, whether pre-salvation or post. Paul completed his races; he saw them through to the end. Then a question flickered through my mind… But at what pace did he accomplish it? As I approached mile three, I continued to contemplate this idea. As the miles passed, I began to see that Paul’s race and the physical race I was engaged in, paralleled what was happening in the modern-day Church. I mean, think about it. When it comes to following Jesus Christ, what percentage of your church would you indicate are “in the race” so to speak? That is, how many actively reflect the kind of life that our Savior lived? How many are running the type of race Paul is speaking of? If you said ten percent of the church is “on fire” I would say that this is probably average. If your body has twenty-five percent of the members active, it would appear that you are doing great. If you say any more than twenty-five percent are running their race diligently though, I am inclined to believe you are just fooling yourselves.