Look Like a Runner

I am a new runner.
New meaning that two months ago my idea of exercise was sitting on my couch watching people on TV do sit-ups. Last week I topped nine miles. I didn’t just get up off the couch and run that ridiculous distance, it took a lot of training and conditioning. And now I am not only running, but I love it! And I love looking like a runner. Did you know there is a whole world of shopping devoted just to runners? Shoes, matching outfits in sweat evaporating material, blister-preventing socks, sweatshirts out of this really cool material that heats up when you sweat, and even computer chips that attach to the shoe and keep track of your mileage. Sigh. It is a shopping girl’s dream!

I have the cutest running outfits: did you know they make running skirts? Yeah, and they are not only more comfortable than shorts, they cover more jiggly too! My expensive correct-my-mild-overpronation-shoes match my running skirt which totally makes my too cute, yet still totally functional, running outfit.

I have all the right gear; I look like the model runner. And when I put it all on people assume I am a runner. After all, I look the part. But looking the part doesn’t make me a runner. I can put on my cute moisture-wicking outfit, I can shop at runners-only-stores (yes, they have those stores, and they are fabulous!), I can hang out at the trails, I can talk about mileage and times, but until I actually get out there and run I am not a runner. Nothing I wear or say or buy will make me a runner. Only running makes me a runner.

It is the same for Christianity.

If you haven’t noticed, there is a definite church vocabulary. There are certain clothes that are appropriate for church and Christians, while other clothes are a total no-no. There are Christian stores, Christian t-shirts, Christian music, Christian movies (smirk), and even Christian diets. And a lot of that stuff is fine and dandy. But none of that paraphernalia makes you a follower of Christ. Looking the part does not make you a Christian. Believing in His death and resurrection, accepting His saving grace, and living each day with Him as Lord of your life. That is what makes you a follower of Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less.

There are specific details that give away a good runner. Evidence of the mileage run. Blisters. Black toenails. Sweat stained headbands. BodyGlide. Even a runner’s expensive shoes bear scars – dirt marks, worn tread, and soles that mold to its runners feet.

Real Christ Followers also bear the evidence of their faith on their lives. A Bible earmarked and torn from use, because they spend time in it every day. Knees worn from hours spent in prayer for others. Scars from spiritual battles. Lines of weariness on their faces from consistently saying no to sin. Tired muscles from repeatedly choosing to take the high road. Joy in times of sorrow, love when faced with an enemy, peace is times of distress, faithfulness to the unfaithful, self-control when faced with over-indulgence, forgiveness to the unforgivable, purpose in a self-centered world – these are marks of Jesus on our lives.

True runners bear the scars of their discipline and commitment on their bodies. Ordinary people may only see feet in desperate need of a pedicure, but other runners see their character and lifestyle written on their body. Non-runners don’t recognize the signs of a runner, the scars are just scars to them. But to another runner it means companionship, someone who understands, someone who is equally committed. Those runner-scars reveal who that person is on the inside.

True, committed, followers of Christ bear the marks of their lifestyle on their body. Badges of honor that bear witness to the world. The world will not, cannot understand those marks. They don’t get why you would put yourself through that kind of strain and self-denial. Then again, they haven’t met Jesus. Other followers of Christ, they understand. They see the scars and are encouraged. They are not alone in this race. You keep on, in spite of pain or difficulty, and so can they. Your Christ-following scars are badges of honor, testimonies of battles survived, of a Savior who ran beside you every step of the way.

Take a sec and look at your life: Do you find yourself getting to the track and only looking the part? Does it still not click why so many seem to enjoy running in the first place? Then ask someone. Try these questions: What made you start running for Christ, how to you prepare yourself daily for the hurt and pain of the Christian workout, and most importantly what is at the end of the race? Click here for more questions and answers.

Do you get short-winded when exercising your faith? Don’t know exactly which shoe to choose or what path to run? Then join the apostles and start running with a group. Even the early believers didn’t have it all together but realized through companionship and accountability they could spur each other on. Look around you and see who is sprinting towards Christ and ask to join their team.

Do you have bruises on your knees from stumbling in your faith? What about scars that remind you of trials faced? Remember to count it all joy when you see that Christ is working in you to make you stronger and better. Even Peter, The Rock, stumbled in his faith but used it as a reminder of Christ’s continuing power. Let Christ pick you up just like Peter and continue your run toward Him.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do 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. Everyone 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. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Phil. 3: 10-15 "That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”