After a hectic weekend, filled to the brim with experiences, there is a little anxious question popping up. What for? Why all this running around? If it is for glory and praise, that is short-lived. It hardly matters. Maybe if you won the Olympics or broke a world-record, it would last a bit longer than tomorrow. It was a recent personal best of 41 minutes for 10k. Another second place. (Thanks Reebok for a great run) And on Saturday at the company retreat, I had to explain over and over. Twenty-five kilometers up to Timber Trail Resort sounds incredibly far to someone who is not a runner.
Or maybe it is for the adventure of running on the highway in the dark with a buddy. The (false) feeling of power as you manage to overcome and reach the planned destination. The rush of being attacked by stray dogs and fending them off with a shower of rocks. The cool air as you go higher and the mountains become visible in the early morning light. The memories, the bonding, the stories. These are good, solid stuff that makes our journey a little less alone. But this too will fade as the years go on and we do not get any younger.
There is a Presence, something to remember that gives me peace. A Name that vibrates with joy through me whenever I do as little as give Him a thought. My Friend and yours if you will have Him.
Most will say He was a good man, even a godly man. Some say a prophet. Most will say a great leader. But if one remembers what he said about himself then he is either a lunatic or he speaks the truth.
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me.”
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they die.”
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
And like Paul I want to say: “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.”
Knowing Him is what makes me get out of bed in the morning. Nothing else compares with that. And I know that I have just scratched the surface of what is to be found in Him. So friends, when I hit bottom after the euphoria, the fun, the success, the “good life”: I remember Him who was there all along. I wish I remembered more often to let Him in, to listen to his quiet voice, to feel His acceptance and praise or reprimand. (Because even His discipline is better than the praise of others.)
I guess the question is: Who do you think He is?
Stephan
Running with a Friend 