2 Thessalonians 3:5 May the Lord direct your
hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. (NIV)
When I was in High School, I enjoyed all sorts of
athletic sports, especially anything to do with running. I was on the school’s
senior sprint relay team, but I much preferred the middle and long distance
events. I enjoyed running laps around the track and usually ended up as one of
the first three runners to finish a race. The secret was to pace myself and to
endure the number of laps required and then, with a burst of speed on the last
lap, overtake most of the other runners.
One season, my gym teacher invited me to represent the
school in a cross-country race. I had never done this before, but I thought it
would easy because I could cover the distance. When the race started, I was
determined to keep up with the leading pack, but they were running much faster
than I anticipated. I very soon got winded and fell back down the field. I had
not anticipated the difficulties of running up and down hillsides, instead of being
on a flat track. As I watched many other competitors gleefully run past me, I
realized I was in the wrong kind of race. After it was over, I was glad to get
back to running on a flat field.
I still admire cross-country runners to this very day.
Their perseverance and stamina, as well as their focus and determination, are
qualities I deeply respect. They taught me a lesson about endurance which I
often find relevant in today’s church world.
Maintaining our faith in these trying times frequently
requires patience and perseverance. The ups and downs of our daily lives are
sometimes difficult to endure. Congregations like our own sometime experience
bumpy roads and even a few setbacks. Thankfully, however, just as today’s verse
amply expresses, God’s love always guides us while Christ’s perseverance helps
us to prevail.
May Jesus continue to bless us as a church of God’s
people who faithfully keep going on.
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