“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theodor Roosevelt
Far too many times in my life have I let fear dictate my actions. Fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear of rejection… I’d keep myself at a “safe” distance as to avoid these outcomes. Sure, I may not experience the reality of failure If I just sit on the sidelines choosing to do nothing, but neither will I see victory or the fruit of walking in obedience according to what God asks me to do. I’m left with a “what if?”.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu has been a huge part of my life for the past 4 1/2 years. It’s something I’m extremely passionate about and in our gym, we have this quote by Roosevelt hanging on the wall. Since then, I’ve always regarded this quote as something that only applied to competition. I would train hard, eat well, and give all I had yet, there were times I still wouldn’t come out with the gold. Prior to taking that step “In the Arena” fear of defeat would course through me, but if I didn’t take that step, I would have never tasted victory, or would I have known the satisfaction of giving everything I got. And I’ve learned giving everything I’ve got is enough…
Leaving Jiu-Jitsu behind along with the people I train with has been a challenge. Since coming on The Race, the Lord has given me a new perspective to this quote.
As Christians, we need to be the “Man in the Arena”. In this life we face difficulties, hardships, adversities, and destitution. To make things even harder, there are people who put us down and try to extinguish the flame of our zeal for the work of God. As long as I have blood coursing through my veins, I will continue running in life towards a prize not of this world, but one in the life to come. At the end when I reach the finish line, I want no regrets. I want only to run into God’s kingdom limping, sweaty, worn knowing I’ve given the Lord 101% only to hear from his lips “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” So, we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
