Philippians 3:12-14
I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
A little over a year ago I took up bike riding. The first day out we rode 8½ miles and I threw up at the end. Last Saturday Stu and I rode 100 miles. Here are a few observations about the experience and some spiritual parallels:
We tend to over-estimate what we can accomplish in the short term, and under-estimate what we can do over time. That first time out I wasn’t really ready for 8½ miles—I never imagined at the time that a year later I would do 100. Most of us can accomplish more for the kingdom of Christ than we think we can—it’ll just take longer than a week. In order to do great things you have to do little things for a long time.
The body is an amazing thing. Push it and ask it to do more and it rises to the challenge. It gets stronger and works more efficiently, drops the fat and adds muscle. Your spiritual man is the same way. Challenge him to do greater things and the indwelling Holy Spirit makes him able.
Everything is better in community. We need positive peer pressure and companionship. Whether it’s riding bikes or winning the nations to Christ—you shouldn’t attempt it alone.
Achieving the goal is the motivation. Last Saturday at mile 93 our friend, Dan, was in agony. He was riding with new shoes and his feet were killing him. Did he finish the ride? You bet! No matter how much he was hurting, stopping with only 7 miles left was not an option. I hope you can envision crossing the finish line into the joy of your Master, and that it is real to you. Finish strong!
Press on.
Brian
