Reference Points

  What's your reference point?

  Yesterday afternoon I ran a local 5k fun run that was put on by the East Hamilton Ministerial Association.  It was a beautiful day, and though I haven't run much I'm trying to get back into it.  I felt pretty good and ended up finishing the race in 24:37, a pace of around 7:57.  I finished around 10 minutes behind the winner, one of those 15 year old kids who can probably run all day and never get tired.

  Now, in the world of marathons that threaten the two hour mark, my time isn't very fast at all.  The speeds at which the fastest runners compete are mind-boggling to me.  I wish I could run like that, but I'll never get there--I just have to strive to run as well as I can.

  Compared to the race I ran a month ago, which I finished just a shade under 26 minutes, my pace yesterday was pretty good.  When I look back over the landscape of this medically-challenging year, I'm happy just to be able to run.  If I use that as a reference point, I'm feeling pretty good about my race.

  So when we look at our walk with Christ, we have to recognize there are two reference points.  We look forward to Christ, the pioneer of our faith.  He walked the perfect walk, lived the perfect life, and we can never duplicate that.  In my wildest dreams, I cannot hope to live a sinless life.  I can't keep myself from getting angry at someone or refusing to turn the other cheek.  I sin and fall short.

  But when I look back at previous years, do I see myself growing?  Am I growing up in Christ, maturing?  When I look back at the last year, and the years before that, how do I compare?  Am I taking on more of the challenge of discipleship, or am I content just to coast?  If I use last year as a reference point, how do I look?

  We have to continue to grow.  When we use our own past as a reference point, we should be able to see places where we are growing.

  When we look to Christ, it should challenge us to strive forward, to push harder, to seek continued growth in our discipleship.  It should keep us from getting lazy.  We should always remember that there is grace enough for our failures, but we cannot use that as an excuse to remain content and just coast throughout life.

  So may we strive to run our race well, that when we come to end we recognize how much we have grown, and as we look to Christ, we can see how much farther we still have to go, and give thanks for the grace to cross the divide and be made complete in Him.