Serving him IS the prize!

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, 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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14 NIV)

I am addicted to planning. Not just any planning, I love to plan vacation and now is the peak of my addiction season. After Christmas my mind always turns to summer and, of course, riding my motorcycle. So, while I'm stuck inside in the harsh Indiana winter, I dream of summer and where my lovely wife and I will travel. I need the knowledge of the final destination to lead me on, but it's the focus on the details that gets me through the winter. It takes 6 months to plan a 3 week trip. Once we leave, it is glorious to see the plan come together. The actual destination is only 10% of the vacation. 90% is the planning and the adventure reaching that destination. The stories of our trips, how God has been with us, could fill endless posts in this blog. To see his hand in the people we meet and the places we have gone are awe inspiring. So, for the next 6 months, I will be planning and the anticipation will grow, even in subzero temperatures, fierce winds, and a foot of snow!

My life as a Christian is very similar. I am so blessed to have a wonderful savior. I could literally sit around, do nothing, and receive a fantastic heavenly reward. My salvation has been won. The war is over. I know who wins and I am on the victorious team. So why should I care about the lost? Why should I worry about anyone else but me? 

Don't you get it? There is a great adventure ahead of us as we serve here in this life. It's not just the ETERNAL destination that matters. It's the trip getting there that makes life so wonderful. I think that's what Paul was trying to tell us. It's not the prize that matters, it's the race to that prize that has real value. Yes, sometimes it's a strain. Sometimes it's an all out war to even lift your head off the pillow in the morning. That, too, is a part of the grand adventure. That's when we forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. We press on toward our goals.

What are your life goals? What "carrots" have you placed in front of you to make it through the "harsh winters of your life"? You may never reach your goal, but you must have a goal just the same. Don't just wander through life looking for the end. Seek God, that's my goal. I don't want more things, I don't want an easier life. I just long to be close to God. I want to be so close, I can touch the hem of his robe. I want to be so close, he trips over me like a pesky toddler. I want to be so close, people see God through me. I may never get as close as I want, but I will powerfully race toward the prize. Like Paul, I don't claim to be "there" yet. But I will race toward that goal because Their is no greater prize than serving him. Really, serving him IS the prize!

Blind Runner

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. (Psalm 119:18 NIV)

Many years ago I was running a 5k race in a wooded nature reserve. To this day it is still one of my favorite races. I was about 2 miles into the race when I came upon a blind runner. The only reason I knew he was blind is that he had a tshirt indicating he was blind. I ran up beside him and started a friendly conversation. As he and I were talking I tripped over a tree root. How ironic that I tripped and the blind man didn't. We had a good  laugh.  He explained to me that he ran by seeing only patches of light and dark. He literally ran toward the light and PICKED UP HIS FEET!

How fitting a story for this verse. Even those of us with keen sight need help with our vision. Like the cliche says, sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees. We may think we see everything there is to see, but when God opens our eyes, we really find out what we've been missing. We need to work hard to run toward the light. It takes focus and concentration. There are so many things in life to distract us. Those distractions keep us from the blessings God intended. Even us Christians will trip on some roots. We need to learn to focus on the light and pick up our feet. We can do that by constant prayer, studying Gods word, and worship with our brothers and sisters. We can do that b serving others and searching out the lost.

We are not in this race alone. God is with us. He is there to help pick us up when we trip and fall. He is there to provide guidance and direction. He is there to celebrate when we win and encourage us when the race gets long. Praise Gid for his love and the wonderful race of life.

God's Track Meet!

Psalm 70 (New International Version, ©2011)

    For the director of music. Of David. A petition. ¹ Hasten, O God, to save me;
   come quickly, LORD, to help me.
 ² May those who want to take my life
   be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
   be turned back in disgrace.
³ May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
   turn back because of their shame.
⁴ But may all who seek you
   rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
   “The LORD is great!”
 ⁵ But as for me, I am poor and needy;
   come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
   LORD, do not delay.


Our society is moving at such a fast pace. We ran our second track meet of the year tonight. Track is one of my favorite sports. I just love watching the 3200m and 1600m run. There is such strategy that is played out in those 4 or 8 laps on the track. But, most people hate these races. They have no patience to attempt to study the race. Spectators usually love the 100m or 200m race. These races are pure speed races. I don't see the enjoyment of the brief 10 seconds versus the 10 minutes of the distance race. There's not enough time for strategy in a sprint race. Track and field is like life. We have very little patience to wait on the race to develop. We won't slow down and wait to see how God's plan develops. We want the race to end now so we can see the results when we want to.  I don't know how many times I have heard someone say, "Patience is a virtue", or  tried to give comfort by saying "In Gods time". When we are suffering and Praying for God's intervention, we take no comfort in waiting. We are impatient people. Really what we are saying is "We know better than you God, so speed up my blessings and answer my Prayer NOW!"

We may not understand God's plan. But, it will be revealed in his time. He is the God of the universe. If we truly believe that, then shouldn't we trust he knows what he's doing? God will not do things just to do them fast. He will answer our prayers in the right time. He will provide us with just what we need, exactly when we need it. We will have good laps in the race of life and we will have laps where we run in last place. But, the race is not over. We need to endure. We need to go the distance. God will stretch us. He will grow us. He loves us. His time is perfect time. If we have patience to let the race of life develop as God would, we will surely when the Blue Ribbon. We will get to stand on the podium as victorious through Christ.