A Long Walk Home

For various reasons, when I was a middle-school aged child  I often found myself suspended from the school bus.  When this occured, plans needed to be made for me to get to and from school.  The school was about five miles away from home, so mom or dad would drive there in the morning and I would be left to my own devices to bike or walk home.

In the beginning of the school year or near the end, when the temperatures were warmer and the streets were free of snow/debris, bicycling was the way to go.  But to my discredit, suspensions can occur at any time of the year and, inevitably, they seem to always occur when it's cold outside and there is snow on the ground, prohibiting the use of my bike and forcing me to do something I would rather not do: walk home.

However, seeing as waiting around several uneccessary hours for one of my parents to get off work and pick me up from school would be a ludicrous suggestion, both for me and my parents, I became determined to walk home.  At least one half of this walk would be at least somewhat agreeable: well-plowed, close-to-road sidewalks.  But for more than a negligible part of the walk, due to the necessary route(s), I had to tredge through unplowed snow for a good amount of time.

On one such day under these sorts of circumstances, I had to walk home.  Yet, unbeknownst to me before school, there was an ample snow fall during the school hours, meaning two things: (1) that I would be walking through a foot of snow, and (2) I was woefully underdressed for such an endeavor.  Being a middle-schooler with a middle schooler's understanding of how meteorological patterns affect garment decisions, I had failed to bring a winter coat or shoes that were suitable for my walk.  But, as there was no choice otherwise, I still had to walk home.

Half way on my journey, in the thick of the snow, every step became a bear as I plodded, cruching with each struggling stride.  My limbs were so cold that I had brought my arms back through my sleeves and I was clutching them around the trunk of my core.  Luckily, my feet had been numbed by the frigid snow encasing my thin tennis shoes with each step that they barely hurt at all, only tinging subtley with every labored hoof.

At some point, exhaustion hit me and I stopped.  I was more than half-way home, but I was still about two miles away from home.  Although I was in the middle of suburbia, becuase my route took me through the county park, no one would ever know where I really was.  As I stood still in a snow-covered emptiness, I searched my hazy breaths for some of the most sincere thoughts that I had ever or have ever since. 

I could sense a sort of foreboding danger in the numbness of my limbs and I feared that I might not make it home in time to prevent hypothermia.  My ears felt like they were on fire to the point that I had to touch them to be assured that, no, they were in fact almost frozen.  Fear and worry filled my arctic thoughts.  I knew that there were two possibilities: (1) I could give up, or (2) I could become determined and trudge on homeward.

To be sure, for a middle school kid this is an existential dilemma but I decided that the latter was the better option.  So, with each new step I garnered a bit more determination and will to continue on my path and to reach my goal.  This was one of those days that affected me.  Ever since, I have learned that there is incredible value in setting a course and, though it may be challenging and long, to stick to it with consistent perseverance.  Funny thing is that when I came to Christ and started reading HIs Word in earnest, I learned that this is exactly how God desires us to endure in our faith.  Praise be to God for those moments of deep learning that can happen amidst the strangest circumstances in life!

Running the Race like the Scot threw the Discus

There is an old story about a nineteenth-century Discus thrower that goes something like this:

A young man who lived in a Scottish village in the nineteenth-century wanted to be a star athlete.  He knew that he was athletic and strong, but because he wasn't a great runner, he needed a different event.  This was well before internet or even television, but after reading a local newspaper's report of an English track and field event, the man decided that he would become a discus thrower.

Because the man lived in a remote rural village, finding a discus was not an easy thing; in fact, it was impossible.  To remedy the situation, the young man, using a a description from a book, built himself a discus.  However, the young man misinterpreted the disc description: he thought that the disc was made completely of iron, whereas the competition discs were made of wood with an iron rim.

The Scot marked the record distance on the far end of the field and for over a year practiced throwing his all-iron disc until he could regularly throw beyond the record.  The man traveled to England for his first competition against some of the world's best throwers.  Yet, we the officials handed him the wooden disc for his first throw, he threw it with ease, setting long-standing records in the process.  It was the added burden during training that helped him succeed.

Both Paul and James speak of the necessity of persevering under weight and pressure (Rom. 5:1-5; James 1:2-4).  The idea is that endurance requires an attitude.  The discus champion above was focused, intent on becoming the best.  And, although he did not know that he was training with a discus that was far-heavier than it needed to be, it was in fact the added weight that made him so good.  

Similarly, if we are intentional in our pursuit of God and spiritual growth, we should take the same mind as the discus thrower: studying and loving beyond what is necessary so that we grow.  Needless to say, the reality of this boils down to a single, but essential word, work.

Consider the words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians:

"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.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.  They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified (1 Cor. 9:24-27)."

The Olympics of Life

Every couple of years, the Olympics take place and sets the whole world in a stir of competition as the world's greatest athletes compete for their respective countries and for the chance to be deemed the very best at their sport.  To win the gold medal at the Olympics is the crowning achievement for these athletes who have spent, in some cases, their whole lives preparing for a chance, usually only a single in their lifetimes, to win.

Think of the years of preparation for an event that can sometimes take mere moments to complete.  The 100m freestyle swimming event, for instance, is over within seconds, and a lifetime's worth of training comes to fruition.  But, as the pool settles and the water returns to its rest, the times come in to determine whether one is a winner or not.

It is at this season when two particular verses of Scripture continually come to mind: 1 Cor. 9:24-27 and Hebrews 12:1-2.  Both of these passages deal with the theme of perseverance and endurance for the purposes of godliness and sanctification.  There is a sense, for both Paul and the writer of Hebrews, that the Christian is to train for godliness so as to be prepared to run the long race that is the Christian life.

Paramount to this is to understand that while each one of us is running our own race, we each run it together; we are not running individually.  This may seem paradoxical, because we are competing both in an individual event as well as a team event.  However, our individual race is done with the power fo the Holy Spirit, who empowers us with the strength and stamina to fight the good fight and to stay true.  Additionally, the team event is the Church, both the global Church and the local church. Both are important, as we, as individuals, need to rely on each other continuously for strength and for encouragement.  Let us then heed the words of Hebrews and begin to take our training much more seriously, because our competitive event is life itself:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every sin and weight which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is marked out for us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:1-2)."

Using Time to the Fullest

Much of Holy Writ is dedicated to the task of understanding wisdom.  Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the book of Job are all explicitly devoted to the quest for wisdom.  The particulars of wisdom are examined by pitting wisdom against folly.  The onset of the search for wisdom is the fear of God (Pro. 9:10).  Reverence for God is the beginning of wisdom, and should guide every decision in every situation we may face.

Some of the most constant and challenging decisions we face is that of time usage.  Time is limited; there is only so much of it to do all of the things that need to be done.  Everyday, several times a day, we face decisions in how we will choose to devote our time.  As a result, a true test of wisdom is in how well we make use of the time we have been given because our time is so limited.  We should, then, strive to prioritize with wisdom so as to not let the time go along in uselessness.

Paul exhorts believers in Ephesians to live wisely by making the most use of the time, for the days are evil (Eph. 5:15-16).  Truly, this is the case.  For time passes whether we are aware of it or not.  And if we are not paying attention, it will be too late before we realize.  Paul echoes his exhortation in his letter to the Colossians (Col. 4:5), indicating that this is an important teaching and should not be quickly neglected.

Ultimately, godly time management and prioritization is a practice that takes effort, diligence, and discipline.  Often the trappings of the world have such a hook-like pull that distract us from the tasks we have been called to complete.  Think of all the time we've so easily spent online, in front of the television, or just sitting around doing nothing.  In the end, this should not be so.  Let us then press on in faith and obedience to make the best use of the blessed time that God has given us!

Rest for the Weary

Paraphrased from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings:

In preparations for his one-hundred-and-an-eleventh birthday, Bilbo Baggins was sitting in his kitchen with his good friend, the wise wizard, Gandalf.  Gandalf was astonished at how young the old hobbit appeared, despite his apparent age.  After some brief conversation, Bilbo, became vulnerable with his friend and commented on his age, "I'm tired, Gandalf.  Like butter scraped over too-much bread."

Unlike fictitious hobbits, humans do not need to be one-hundred-and-eleven years old to feel burnt-out, spread thin across the bread of this life.  In the hustling bustle of contemporary culture, where working to exhaustion is the subsumed norm of life, taking a moment to recollect and breathe is an utter necessity.  However, Scripture speaks of God as the source of respite amidst the storms of fatigue.

While it could be useful to ask why are we burnt-out, in an effort to assess whether the various sources of our weariness are in fact worthy in themselves, for the purposes of this brief discussion we will assume, rather, that we are tired and look to God's Word for relief from the desperate tiredness of modern life.

At the onset, God must be the starting point in any conversation of rest.  The Lord God Almighty created the whole of creation.  And, in His infinite and perfect wisdom, He created day and night, a regular cycle.  This cycle lends itself perfectly to man who is built with a need to rest.  Moreover, He instituted a day of rest, a sabbath, so that man may find relief.  These are not coincidental or inconsequential truths; God has factored our need for relief from work into creation itself.

Additionally, weariness is the fertile soil of endurance, and it is endurance that grows into character of the godliest pedigree (Rom. 5:1-5; James 1:2-4, 12).  Again, the purpose of this dialogue is not to address the reason for tiredness, although it will suffice to say that weariness arising from wickedness or sinful activity will breed no endurance and cannot be soil for character growth.

The point is that God has made Himself to be our rest.  He has fashioned creation for our rest and has made us to rest.  Unfortunately, from time to time, we find ourselves in seasons that require us to regularly work ourselves into utter exhaustion.  During these prolonged periods of tiredness, it is essential that we remember to rely on God for our rest and relief.  Let us then hold fast in faith to the Holy Lord so as to be filled with relief even amidst the trials of endurance!

Sanctification through Suffering

We live in a world that spends exorbitant amounts of money pursuing ease and pleasure with the intention of making life seem better.  As if somehow the elusive search for happiness is reached by avoiding stress and the "right" life is defined as one in which suffering is so minimized that it can be considered to no longer exist.  A surface study into the viral growth in anti-depressant usage in America reveals a culture that is obsessed with "feeling" better.  Unfortunately, this runs in opposition to how Scripture speaks about this immensely important issue.

At the onset of this discussion, consider Jesus, who requires His followers to pick up their crosses (Matt. 16:24).  We are also called as Christians to emulate Jesus, suffering in this life with the grace and humility that He did (1 Cor. 11:1; Eph. 5:1-2).  These are not simply pithy sayings to encourage us to wear rosaries or get crosses tattoos.  Rather, this exhortation is to remind us that a Christian's lot in this life is one of joyous perseverance amidst suffering.

Consider two passages of Scripture, Romans 5:1-5 and James 1:2-4.  Both of these passages exhort believers to rejoice at the gift of trials and sufferings for it is in these times that we are being grown more like Christ Jesus.  Essentially, suffering is the breeding ground for character.  It is through perseverance that we cultivate patience, kindness, and enduring strength.  In a very real sense, Paul and James and all of the New Testament authors are quite clear in this regard, not that we should seek suffering but that we should rejoice in its usefulness for sanctification.

Nothing grows without soil, seed, tilling, nourishment, and time.  We, our very hearts, are the soil.  The Gospel, the Word of God, is the seed.  The tilling is suffering and trial.  The nourishment is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Another metaphor may illuminate this more.  Think of anaerobic exercise: muscular tissues and fibers are broken down as a result of continued resistance and the breaking down of muscular tissue allows for more blood to flow through the muscle thus spurring growth.  Suffering breaks us down but it is the breaking down itself that allows for more of Christ to flow into us.

In this regard, Peter speaks of suffering and trial as the refining of precious metals (1 Pet. 1:6-7).  Only under intense and destructive heat may the dross be separated from the gold. Similarly, only under the fires of suffering and persecution may we be refined to be more like Christ.  Therefore, we should take joy in our sufferings not because God will use them to make us more in His image.  Again, this in no way means that we should not grieve or that we should not hurt or that suffering is less painful.  Instead, we can see suffering as it is meant to be seen, namely as the soil for cultivating character.  Essential to this is the continual praise of God amidst the toil and strain.  But praise be to God that He would use suffering to grow us!