So yesterday with Brooklyn, my mom and I went on a dog hike/scavenger hunt put on by our local state park. It was a great way to get out in the middle of the winter slump and enjoy time in the woods with four-legged friends. Throughout the park on trails there were markers that you had to find worth different amounts of points. Whoever at the end of the day had collected the most points won a prize at the end. Now my mother and I figured this would be a pretty simple task as we walk regularly at the park, until we got our map and realized that almost every trail in the park had these markers on them and we only had about 4 hours to get as many as we could. Now we really wanted the prize(free year park pass) and we decided we were going to do our best to come in first. It was funny because this casual day of hiking turned into two woman treating it like it was the Amazing Race and we had to strategize and maximize our time to get to our goal. This was pretty serious business and we got really into it! By the time it was all said and done we hiked on six different trails and covered just about 9 miles with Brooklyn towing me along towards the end. We were utterly exhausted and my legs have never been so sore, but at the end of the day we won our prize! But I got to admit going to the park to hike doesn't sound so grand right now, haha!
Now people who know me really well, know that my mind likes to process and dig out meaning beyond the face value of most things. For example, a horseback ride is not just a horseback ride for me and a hike is not just a hike for me. It is an event that triggers deep thoughts, often spiritual thoughts about life and the world around me. So this day was not any different. As I have thought more about it more, a verse came to my mind. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it." 1 Corinth. 9:24 (ESV) In this verse Paul is not actually talking about a physical race like in the Olympics but is referring to the spiritual race of the calling of Christ. Even though what we were doing was not an actual foot race, it was a "race" against the clock to see what all we could get accomplished and how far we could go before time was up. I relate this to our spiritual life. We gave a goal, a prize, that we want to reach before our life. For our physical race we had to have our gear: appropriate clothing and shoes, map, snacks and anything that helped us on our hike. In the same way we have to have our salvation, the Holy Spirit, the Bible and other things to help us on our spiritual journey. During the hike because we wanted to win the prize of the park pass we had to strategize and maximize our efforts to accomplish what we needed to. Sometimes that meant changing our original plans due to unforeseen circumstances. In the same way in our spiritual walk, we need to think about the best way to accomplish our calling from God and follow His "map" the Bible, but understand that sometimes things will not always go according to our plan. Therefore, there will be times where we will have to adjust and refocus on what He is asking of us. Despite the things that distracted us at times on our hike we kept our goal in focus which kept us driving on productively. "So I do not run aimlessly..." 1 Corinth. 9:26 Even in our spiritual lives the things that seek to distract us must be overruled by our focus on the prize so we are not "running" in circles but actually getting closer to our goal. Now I want to be clear, this does not mean that everything is a rush in this life and that we neglect to take the time to grow in the ways we need to. We had to stop on the trail and make sure that we were writing down our markers correctly otherwise they would not have done us any good being wrong. In the same way, if we want to succeed, we have to take our time to make sure we are stopping to do what God asks of us along the way so that when we get to the end we have truly accomplished His calling. Not in our frenzy to be super-spiritual Christian who is more deserving and above everyone else.
Now what exactly is this spiritual prize? I believe Paul states it best in Philippians 3:14: "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward calling of God in Jesus Christ." The upward calling that ultimately leads to our home in heaven with our Lord and Savior. This is the greatest prize we could ever run after. God's calling in our lives is so important and I have realized just as we were so intent on earning our earthly prize yesterday, I need to take that same fervor towards my spiritual race. I need to have the same determination even when I getting tired and "sore" to keep on pressing forward towards what will make it all worth it. ..."forgetting what lies behind and straining toward to what lies ahead." Phil. 3:13 We have to learn from and move on from what we laid down in our past, what Christ has forgiven us from. We have to move on from what trips us on the trail. We have to put off our sin. We have to carry on with a desire in our hearts to be the best we can be for what God is calling us to do. There are things in my life that have been weighting me down and preventing me from "running my race" to the best of my ability. Weariness has clouded my vision at times. I want to throw those things aside and keep going even when it is hard, even when it seems all uphill, and even when I am exhausted. And honestly, it makes me wonder as Christians, how would our lives be different if we started chasing after our calling with as much fervor as we do for the physical trophies in our lives, the job advancements, the recognition of others, and the success of those we see in magazines? If we put that much effort into reaching God's goals for our lives how much different would our spiritual life be? I think we would be much more joyful and fulfilled. So as I am sitting here resting my aching muscles but feeling satisfied at the accomplishment, I can't help but wonder what it would be like to get to heaven and rest my soul for eternity as I sit at the feet of the Father: my ultimate prize and my ultimate treasure, satisfied I gave everything I had. Let us get into His Word and run the race with the determination to see His face and to hear a job well done.
"Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight , and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." Hebrews 12:1
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