I have somewhat of a sickness. Yesterday I woke up at 2:50 A.M. to run 26.2 miles. No, I am not a paid athlete. My income is not based on my performance. The fact that I willingly run these distances and I pay good amounts of money to put my body through pain and suffering makes me some type of nut job. I wake up at ungodly hours to train and it is hard for me to explain why. I am a running addict. Many people think I am crazy and I confess it does take a certain amount of crazy to do what I do. My ultimate goal is to run the greatest marathon in the world, The Boston Marathon. Let me give you a little background on Boston. It is one of the most difficult races in the world to get accepted into. You have to qualify just to enter the race. My qualifying time is ridiculous. Yesterday, I ran a tough course on a beautiful early San Francisco morning. I enjoyed the fact that I felt so alive while I saw the sun rise over the city by the bay. When I crossed the finish line dazed and hurting I was happy to realize I had achieved a PR (Personal Record). However, one thing was certain, I am still not satisfied.
In reflecting on the events of the day I came to realize that I want the same approach to following Jesus. In fact, I want my passion for running to look pitiful in comparison to my passion for following Jesus. I want to never be satisfied in my pursuit of him. Regardless of pain, discomfort, and suffering, I want to always be chasing after more of him. I want to be hungry for justice and love for the hurting and destitute. As I get ready to “run” the World Race this coming year (no, it’s really not a race), I look forward to pursuing Christ by loving others this year. One thing is for certain, in all the obstacles, discouragement, pain, and suffering that may come my way in the upcoming year, I don’t want to be satisfied in just giving a little. There is always just a little more to give and I certainly look forward to giving it all I’ve got this year… and some more.
