Something God has been talking to me about recently…
The Race is a season.
Its a season that is quickly drawing to a close.
Its a season that I am so thankful for.
Its a season that has completely changed me.
Its a season that I'm going to miss.
But!… its not just a season.
Its my life.
Its all of our lives.
In one month from now, the Race will be over. In all the practical ways anyway…
I will go back to America.
I will go back to the same job I had before I left for the race.
I will be back near my family and friends and the comforts of home.
I will be able to go to a grocery store and be entirely overwhelmed at so many options.
I will have my own car and be able to drive myself wherever I want to go.
I will have my own room back that I don't have to share with 6+ other people.
That part of the Race will be over. So, I can start preparing for those things. Thinking about them and making decisions about my life at home.
But…Some aspects of the Race will never end. And its not ok for me to start to walk away from those things. Not now… not ever.
I can't just walk away from LOVE. I can't walk away from loving my brothers and sisters and encouraging them to pursue the Lord. Community and feedback aren't always easy, but there worth it. We are called to meet together and encourage one another whether we are on the Race or not. Hebrews 10:24-25.
I can't just walk away from EVANGELISM. Maybe door to door evangelism isn't my favorite thing to do, but my life is the gospel. I don't necessarily have to knock on all my neighbors doors to share the gospel. As people see what my life is about, it should naturally reflect Jesus. My life is not my own. Galatians 2:20. So, I don't get a vacation when I get home. There is definitely rest in the Lord and we should take it, but there are no vacations!
I can't just walk away from HOLINESS. We are called to a higher standard. That calling doesn't stop when the race is over. It doesn't change based on my location. I can't rationalize things that don't line up with His word, just because I dont' want to give them up. 2 Corinthians 7:1. 1 Peter 1:13-16.
I can't just walk away from TRUSTing my Father. If I can trust Him to leave everything I know for a year of my life, then I can trust Him with all the details of going back home. Psalm 37:3-4. Proverbs 3:1-12 He is always good and faithful. He is trustworthy when I hear His voice and when I'm not sure if I hear it. And He is trustworthy when I try to pursue Holiness and fall on my face. Because its only through His grace that we can be like Him. 1 Corinthians 15:10
I can't just walk away from PERSEVERANCE. Sometimes things are hard, but I can't just give up when it gets hard. James 1: 2-4. Romans 5:3-5. If I tell myself that I can disengage during this last month of the race and just mentally check out and then I will persevere and it will be different when I get home… I'm lying to myself. If I'm not willing to persevere through this season, I won't in the next either.
I can't just walk away from JESUS and the life He calls me to live. Whether I'm on the Race or not. Whether I'm in India, Vietnam, Kenya, Estonia or America.
Not now.
Not ever.
This is my Life. Before the Race… On the Race… After the Race.
This is all our lives. So keep pressing in. Its worth it.
