A New Finish Line to Chase

I am an athlete.  Or at least I have allowed Nike and Gatorade commercials to convince me that I should think of myself as one.  I have spent the duration of my life moving from athletic pursuit to athletic pursuit.  In some I had moderate success (running circles around the track in high school and college), and in others I met utter failure (like going out for the Junior High basketball team, at which time the basketball coach happily introduced me to the track coach).  But in every instance, I continued to improve myself physically and mentally as I prepared for my next great athletic challenge.  

Following my final race, I reached the point that all athletes face upon the end of their collegiate career where I wondered, "What do I run for now?"  There were no more races to be run.  Sure, I could sign up for some local track club and race other post-collegiate glory hounds, but something in that seemed so unnatural.  

And so I made the transition from "training" to "working out."  The difference in the two lies simply in the purpose.  You see, athletes train.  Their goal is to achieve peak performance, and all of their effort is directed toward that purpose.  When they lack motivation, they are able to look forward toward their next great competition and know that they must not slack, lest they be unprepared.  For they know that somewhere, their competition is training, and neither is willing to be outdone.

The rest of the world works out.  Their goal is to look better naked.  Or in a sense, their goal is to look like athletes.  However, they have no great event for which they are preparing.  They simply put in the effort day in and day out with the simple, superficial objective of looking good.  If their efforts dwindle, they simply take shortcuts - pharmaceutical or even surgical.  And it really doesn't matter, because after a short while, their only true goal is maintenance, not improvement.

For years I worked out.  I would schlep my way to the gym, put in some time, take some supplements and go home - satisfied that I still look somewhat like the athlete that I once was.    

My wife, however, made the post-collegiate transition from track to triathlon.  And with that transition she was had no shortage of finish lines to chase.  Each year brings her a new goal, a new challenge, and she spends herself tirelessly preparing for each great event.  This year will mark her first Ironman.  She has worked tirelessly preparing herself for the great physical challenge, and the results are quite evident.  What's more, she has a reason for her effort that drives her out of bed each day - a tangible goal on her horizon for which I know she will be prepared.

And so it is with faith.

In the race of our lives the Bible encourages us to run tirelessly toward a goal.  But for some like me, our last great competition was years ago and we have no great pursuit on our horizon?  We have ceased to prepare for another great pursuit and instead give a halfhearted effort to simply appear like the Christian we once were.  We are satisfied with maintenance as we relish the achievements of our past.  We quickly find ourselves with nothing driving us out of bed in the morning, and in the absence of a reason to train ourselves, we waste our time on entertainment and wasteful indulgence.  

But I cannot stand working out my faith any longer.  I need to get back to training.  My faith needs an Ironman.  I need a challenge on the horizon that is so great it scares me to the core.  I need to mark off the days until my next test and wake up each morning knowing that the effort I put in that day will make me ready for the task that lies ahead.  I pray today that God will show me this task, and that I will be willing to sign up.  For I need a new finish line to chase.