The other day I was leaving work when I saw a “For Sale” sign on the lawn of the house right across from my school. “That’s it!” I thought. I’ll just move into the house across the street from where I work. I may as well. Why? Well, because frankly, I’m tired of running. I’m tired of running around like a chicken with my head cut off each and every morning trying to get ready for work with my two little ones and my husband and still running late anyway. I hate that pressure you feel when you are running late and there is traffic and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. You can’t make anybody go faster and time just keeps ticking away. And still, internally, you’re running.
Then I got to thinking about running and how many references to running there are in our everyday lives. We have to run to the store. We’re running late. We’re running on empty. Some days we wonder, “Who’s running this show anyway?” We run out of steam and out of time. We feel like we’re running in place. And, of course, “America Runs on Dunkin”, just to name a few. What are we running to, or from? What’s the purpose of all of this running?
I think most of us are running around trying to make better lives for ourselves, our children, and others. In our jobs we have an opportunity to touch lives everyday, no matter whether we are janitors, teachers, or sales consultants. Do we? In our homes we have an opportunity to touch the hearts and lives of those closest to us daily. Do we take that opportunity? In the midst of our all-important running, do we stop to play a game with our children, have a conversation with our husbands or wives? At work, are we too busy to stop and talk to the woman who recently lost a child, or the man who was just diagnosed with cancer and try to give them something to hope for or to hope in? Do we go past in a frenzy running aimlessly toward the goal of more money, more recognition, more accomplishments and accolades? We may not do it consciously, but we often run after the wrong things at the wrong times.
Interestingly, the Bible tells us to run. But not in the way you might think. 1 Corinthians 9:24 and 25 says this about running:
24Do 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.
25Everyone 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.
The Bible compares us to runners training for a race. It says, basically, if you must run, then run in such a way that you will win the prize. Sounds just like the world in a way, doesn’t it? If you have to do it anyway, you may as well win, right? But then it goes on to say that runners go into strict training in order to win a crown that will not last. Accolades and recognition are great, but those crowns, those rewards do not last forever. It goes on to say that we will get a crown that lasts forever. There is nothing wrong with recognition, money, or rewards. The Bible says that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him! God loves to reward his own. But our goal when running should be to get a crown that will last forever, to seek after an eternal prize. We do this when we learn to run after those things that really matter when it matters most. If we do this, then no matter what happens in any other area of our lives, we are winners. See you on the other side of the tape!
Love,
Malissa
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