You Might Be a Christian If...

Hopefully, you all had a little fun with the last post. You probably got to make fun of yourself a few times with comments like, "I SO do that!" Maybe you even added a few of your own. (If you did, be sure and comment so we can all enjoy!)

It never ceases to amaze me how different...but how alike runners are. If you need me to prove it to you, just stand at the finish line of a local race. The diversity of runners is amazing. We come in all different shapes and sizes, prefer specific paces and distances, insist on one brand of shoe over all others, hate running indoors or embrace gym memberships for your favorite treadmill...

No matter how different we are, we still have that one common bond as runners. You know that each person you're running with in a race finds time in their crazy schedule to train, whether early in the morning before class, or at night after the kids are in bed. They understand the amazing feeling of accomplishment in crossing a marathon finish line. They can empathize with an injury that forces you to resort to pool running for a month. They don't even expect you to have all of your toenails. Regardless of our personal preferences, we're all runners.

Being a Christian is the same way. We are so different - with differing backgrounds, from numerous countries, converted at different ages, each with unique spiritual gifts and callings on our lives. Just like runners though, we have that eternal bond as brothers and sisters in Christ.

In his first letter to Corinth, Paul points out this very point.

"For as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. So the body is not one part but many. If the foot should say, "Because I'm not a hand, I don't belong to the body," in spite of this it still belongs to the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I'm not an eye, I don't belong to the body," in spite of this it still belongs to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But now God has placed the parts, each one of them, in the body just as He wanted. And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? 20 Now there are many parts, yet one body.
So the eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" nor again the head to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, all the more, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary. And those parts of the body that we think to be less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have a better presentation. But our presentable parts have no need [of clothing]. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it." (I Corinthians 12:12-27)

There is not a spiritual gift, race, or worship style prefered by God. He views them all as equally important, and they are all needed for a spiritually alive and growing New Testament church.

So don't think that because you don't have a full-time job at a church that God hasn't called you to do His work. Just as running a 5K makes you just as much of a runner as an ultra-marathoner, stacking chairs after the worship service makes you just as much of a servant of Christ as the preacher. In the same way, if you are the one teaching the Bible study, don't think you are more important than the one who greeted participants at the door. (That's just as fake as sneering at someone with a Half Marathon Race Bib in the bathroom before the race's start. You know by mile 18, you're wishing you could switch with them!)

So embrace your spiritual gifts. Ask God to reveal to You how He wants to use you to do His work. Ask for forgiveness if you haven't been using the gifts He has given you, or if you have regarded yourself as more important than others in the church. Then, pray for opportunities to glorify God with the talents and abilities He has given you.

An additional challenge: Ask yourself if you are as easily identified as one of Gof's children as you are as a runner. If you made a list of "You Might Be a Christian If..." including things like love your enemies, turnd the other cheek when wronged, gives cheerfully, loves your neighbor as yourself...how would you measure up? Seek to be more blatant with your Christianity as you are in your love for running.

Runner’s Envy

"I run because I used to be envious of people that could run, and now I am that person."
Kendra Thompson, Everyday Runner

I completely relate. I come from a family of runners. My childhood was full of mom-enforced runs. It was the worse torture imaginable for an unathletic-stubborn-girl. She made us jog, and by that I mean the absolutely slowest run possible while still moving, for a whole entire half mile. At eleven I thought it was inhumane. Not that I ever actually ran the whole distance – as soon as I was out of sight, I walked. In love with running, I was not! But something about those mom-enforced runs must have worked, because my whole family runs now. One brother runs track in college, one sister runs with the cross-country team at a different college, and two more sisters run both track and cross-country in High School. A running family, well, except for me. I envied their natural athletic ability, long-legged strides, and the discipline it takes to just run.

I envied my siblings, whose running won them scholarships to college. I envy my Mom, who still runs at least three miles a day. Last summer, I was confined to bed with a particularly vicious and disgusting form of mono. And I envied my best friends who were able to run five miles a day while I was too weak to move from the couch. When I recovered, I decided that envy was overrated. If I wanted to be like all of them, I should. So I joined a running team, was handed a training schedule, and begin running every day. Three months after I begin running, I ran my first half-marathon.

The funny thing is – my new friends, those who have met me in 2008, actually think I am a runner. The thought makes me laugh. But, I guess it is true. I have the right runners clothes, I wear Asics that correct my under-pronation, I use (and understand) words like cross-train, carbo-loading, and fartlek ( I still giggle at that one). Of course the thing that really makes me a runner is that I hit the trails at least five days out of seven for a weekly mileage of thirty or so. I guess I am a runner. I guess I did it – I became that which I envied.

That’s the thing about envy. It only works as long as you don’t have it or haven’t become it yet. Envy can also show you who you really want to be. It can reveal what is most important to you. But envy also sets those people, those things that are envied, apart. Envy puts ordinary people, like runners, on a pedestal.

There are other people that I envy. I envy my mom’s prayer life. I envy my brother’s sold-out-to-Jesus lifestyle. I envy my best friend’s soul-shattering, life-changing quiet times. I envy the realness of my pastor’s faith. I want what they have. And I can continue just to want it, or I can become it. It’s not like they are anything special, they simply serve a very special God. It is not that they are more loveable, more useable, or way more talented. God uses those who surrender to His leadership. God uses those who surrender the reins and allow their life to be useable.

I want to pray unceasingly, in full faith, in accordance with God’s will – like my Mom does. I want to be fully surrendered to God, obedient in all things, passionately living the life He designed me to live – just like my little brother is. I want to meet God every time I open His Word, so cleansed of sin that I hear every Word that God speaks – just like my best friend. I want a faith that is real, relevant, true, and life-changing to everyone I encounter – like my pastor. I want their faith, their walk with the Lord, their obedience. This can be good envy. An envy that can be used by the Holy Spirit: if I allow Him to control the envy rather than the envy control Him.

If the envy controls The Holy Spirit:
I become bitter and resentful that God favors my friends and family more than He does me. I see our lack of relationship as God’s fault, or a flaw in how he made me, not my responsibility. I pull away from anyone who has a vibrant, intimate relationship with God. Eventually, I pull away from the church altogether. I still envy those who have a stronger faith, but I have given up hope of ever achieving that spiritual state of my own. The result is depression, anger, and the need to find something else to live for, so I turn to a self-centered life of sin.

If the Holy Spirit controls the envy:
He provides the power to become that which I envy. I realize that the only thing that sets my apart from them is that they are living each day in the victory of the cross, driven by the will of God, empowered by unending grace, and humbly being transformed by the Spirit of God. I realize that we serve the same God, who offers the same saving grace to all who will daily take up their cross and follow Him. I spend quality time with people who have the kind of faith I want. I learn from them and am inspired by their intimate relationship with Christ. My quest for a closer relationship with God leads me to spend hours in the Word, start and finish my day with prayer, and constantly seek the fellowship of believers. The result is a death of self and a transformation into a woman who exudes Jesus Christ.

Spiritual envy can be a great thing if it causes you to become what you envy.

Personally, I have come to the point in my Christian life where I can no longer fake it. No longer will I be satisfied to drift along in the average. I want the amazing. I refuse to meander in half-hearted religion. I want the miraculous. I will no longer wander in the wilderness of personal satisfaction. I will accept nothing less than total sacrifice. I will not settle for merely functional or competent Christianity. I want a soul-burning, heart-stopping, world-changing, love relationship with the God of all creation. I am done being a mediocre Christian. I want a life so Christ-like that when others imitate me, they become like my Lord. I want to become that which I envied. I want a life that is real, bold, Christ-like, forever. And that life starts now.

So I am turning off my computer and picking up my Bible for the remainder of the evening.

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24

“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34

“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2

Training for Holiness

"Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training and some of us are not." – Runner's World Quote of the Day.

That quote appeared in my inbox this morning. My initial reaction as a runner in training was to be inspired to train harder. Then I read it again and I actually disagree with that quote a little. Not everyone is an athlete. Everyone may have athletic potential – even if it is just a tiny smidge. Take me for example: until 2008, I thought a decent workout was finishing a one mile jog without breathing too terribly hard or sweating away my cuteness. I was all cute shoes, manicured nails, fruity perfumes, and girl talk. Frou frou was my middle name. The term “athletic” couldn’t be used to describe anything about me, not even my tennis shoes. Athletic I was not. Still am not. Throw any ball-shaped object at me and my first instinct is to duck, not catch it. I still fall over when I try to do lunges. It’s ridiculously funny to watch but not athletically inspiring in the least. So, not athletic – but I am a runner. I logged 30 miles this week. It isn’t 50, and it definitely isn’t 200, but it is serious running. And, just so you know, according to the sporty-people-who-know, running is a sport. It is even an event in the Olympics. Therefore, I am an athlete – ha! My 62 pairs of high heels are laughing at that statement.

Back to the point, not everyone is an athlete. Just like not everyone is a Christian. Lost people and couch potatoes do exist. But for those who are athletes, there are two types: those in training and those who aren’t. The aren’ts are the has-been athletes. Training does not have an end. As long as you are an athlete, you train. When you stop training, you immediately become a has-been. Athlete is not a title achieved by logging so many hours on the field or in the gym. It is a description of what you do every day. The term athlete describes a life of disciple and purpose.Christian is a title given upon the acceptance and belief in the person and work of Jesus Christ. But Christianity, the process of becoming like Christ, continues as long as we live. Just like the training to be an athlete, learning to be like Christ never ends. As long as there is breath in our bodies, there is sin to be shed and holiness to be learned. And as long as we can still stand, there are still seconds that can be shaved off of our mile. It is a never ending process called training. Training for holiness.

Running must be planned or it won’t happen. No runner wakes up at 6am and decides spur of the moment to run twelve miles in 19degree weather. That run was planned weeks in advance, as part of the master plan to get that runner to a goal. And that goal is bigger than early mornings and cold weather. So the runner gets up and runs.

Holiness must be planned or it will never be learned. No Christian wakes up an hour earlier than required on a Monday morning and reaches for the Bible just because they are tired of sleeping. That time in the Word, those moments spent with God were planned beforehand. That discipline didn’t just come; it was planned in times of strength to carry us through early morning moments of weakness. A plan was made and committed to in order to insure that follower of Christ will actually follow Christ. And that dedication to the cause of knowing Christ is bigger than sleep or personal time. So the Christian wakes up early and kneels to pray.

I have a training schedule. It incorporates mileage and strength training, crossing training and speed work, hill training and resting into my week. If it wasn’t for that training schedule I wouldn’t be consistent. That little chart is the map to being a better runner. It sets the pace for the next several months of running. I know what is expected of me physically so that I can prepare mentally. As Christians, we need the same thing to keep us on track in following Christ. We need a plan for holiness.

Even though I talk more than anyone you have probably ever met, I am actually a doer. I actually made out a training chart for holiness. It’s on a pink Excel spreadsheet - I will spare you the details. It looks a little like this:

Running Schedule:
Monday: 60 minute run, comfortable jog. 2 sets speed drills. Weights: arms/legs.
Tuesday: Run 6 miles, race pace. Core.
Wednesday: Cross train (for me that is bike or elliptical). Weights: arms/legs.
Thursday: Run 8 miles, race pace +1.
Friday: Rest. Core.
Saturday: Run 12 miles, race pace or whatever it takes to finish.
Sunday: 4 mile jog or hill train.
Each week mileage increases.

Holiness Schedule:
Monday: Read 1 John 1, journal reflection, prayer run*. Scripture memory.
Tuesday: Read 1 John 2, journal, prayer run. Personal Bible Study on Genesis.
Wednesday: Read Psalms, journal. Time of Praise. Scripture memory.
Thursday: Read 1 John 3, journal, prayer run. Personal Bible Study on Genesis.
Friday: (Tired) Read Psalms, just let them wash over me. Listen to God.
Saturday: Read 1 John 4, journal, prayer run. Accountability. Scripture memory.
Sunday: Time of thanksgiving and praise (with the help of my iPod and David Crowder), meditate on Scripture memorized, read over 1 John 1-4. Personal Bible Study on Genesis.
*I pray for others while I run.

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” 1 Peter 1:13-19

So who are you?
Are you the beer-bellied has-been athlete yelling at replays of the game in an effort to reclaim his glory days? Or are you the runner pouring sweat with straining muscles and who forces yourself across the finish line, breaking the tape with head held high because you did it.

Are you the Christian who reaches over his Bible in the morning in favor of the newspaper, whose memories of God are the only thing that convinces him that God actually exists? Or are you the Christian who is daily fighting the good fight, who expects to meet with God every day and hear from God ever time the Word is opened?Choose to train. Make a plan. Commit to the discipline of holiness. Just do it. So that you can say, as Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

Train for holiness.