Truth be told. I have never been a good athlete by nature. Competitive? Yes. Athletic? Not really. I used to excel at sports for one reason and one reason alone: physical activity was my way of dealing with stress or frustration. Growing up, I had enough built up tension to successfully work out at least once, twice, sometimes three times a day.
In recent years, I haven't really felt the tense frustration that used to lead me to run or shoot hoops. But for some reason, this week I have felt it. Unusually irritable, I have wanted nothing to do with people. Yet, at the same time I have wanted nothing more than to welcome people. Crazy, ain't it?
Tension compels me to run. It isn't the love of the competition or the desire to improve my game or even a concern for my health. I run when I am stressed, when there is something to run away from. My irritation compelled me to act.
What if my actions were compelled by something else, something greater than myself and my emotions and my reasoning? What if this passage were true?
"Christ's love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do." 2 Cor. 5.14 (The Message)What if Christ's love compelled me to run? What if I allowed His love to control my life? If Jesus was my motivation for everything, I would be running toward Him instead of away from my tensions. I would be running toward the storm, through the desert, into the fire, across the promised lands, and bypassing everything this world has to offer to arrive in His arms.
Tonight I remind myself that I am not fueled by tensions in this world, but by the love of Christ. It's time to start running toward something again.. both literally and metaphorically speaking.
"I will run the race set before me, I will seek your face as the prize of my life. I will run". - Misty Edwards
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