Run the race to win

Godly ambition

Our life is a journey. In a well-lived life, there is a sense of progression; moving from one thing to the next. There is visible personal growth and the deepening of character. But the extent to which we grow is (or indeed whether we grow at all) is up to us. What will our attitude be? Consider that the journey is in fact a race.

Spectator, athlete or champion

Will we be spectators content to watch the race run?

James 1: 23-25

23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

That is, to look but not do does not lead to a blessing. To be a spectator and not a runner is to miss out on the blessing that God has for us.

Will we run the race?

Hebrews 12: 1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Here we are called to run the race but there is a higher calling; are we training to win the race?

1 Corinthians 9:23-25

I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

So here are the choices: 1. Watch the race run 2. Run the race 3. Run the race to win.

This is not a comment on salvation or even a comment on God's expectations but rather a challenge to rise above mediocrity.

Passive, active or ambitious

If we translate this idea into a practical every day context we can easily identify three types of people that we might be or become.

1. Those that have passive interest in their faith. They tick the Christian box on the national census, see Jesus as beyond reproach and attend Church at Christmas and Easter. They tend to be cynical about the experiential side of Christianity but they hold a lot of credence for the institution. These are the spectators.

2. Those that actively participate in their faith by attending church, getting involved in church programs, praying when the need arises and living a bible-based value-centred life with no major indiscretions. They are right on the edge of the bigger-picture, sensing that there must be more; always wanting more but never quite satisfied. They are cheerful givers often responding to a call donations for this program or that but they never really initiate anything. They are good people, everyone likes them … they fill up our churches. They're often plump by middle-age. These are in the race which they see as a kind of fun-run.

3. Those who are ambitious in the faith. They initiate, take risks, always seem youthful and have vision. They're always initiating and inspiring. They talk the big-picture and conversation with them is rarely dull. When you meet them you can sense their energy and feel energized by it. They have an edge and are often controversial. They are have no qualms about challenging the status quo and seem to march to the beat of their own drum. They are optimistic and hold hope tightly. They affect everyone around them without really noticing. They are the informal leader and they run the race to win.

So here are your faith choices; you can be: passive, active or ambitious.

Which one do you aspire to be?

William Wilberforce

Seeing the film "amazing grace" challenged me to read up on the extraordinary ambitiousness of William Wilberforce's faith.

He wasn't content to watch others engage in faith works. It wasn't enough for him to live a quite life of Godly devotion like many of his contemporaries. He took on the largest, richest and most powerful affront to the kingdom of God in his time and stood in faith against it for 45 years.

The audacity of his convictions attracted ridicule, disbelief and ultimately open hostility. He was maligned, cajoled and painted as unpatriotic but never-the-less held unswervingly to work to protect the interests in the most poor, powerless and pitied people imaginable…slaves. And in faith he succeeded dying 29 July 1833 only days before the parliamentary bill emancipating all slaves of the British Empire finally passed into law. Wilberforce changed the world.

Nehemiah

Consider the life of one of my personal heroes from the bible; Nehemiah.

The Book of Nehemiah was written between 445 and 420 B.C. Jerusalem has been sacked by the Persian empire and the Israelites carried off to slavery in Babylon (modern-day Iran).

Nehemiah is cup-bearer to the king, as Artaxerxes last defense to treachery he would have been a trustworthy man but also an expendable Jewish exile. Should he fall out of favour with the King his life would be forfeit so he has a dilemma: he is clearly moved to act in the interests of his people and the shame his nation endures while its ancient walls lay in ruins but should he plead for help he may very well forfeit his life.

How far would our faith take us if we were in Nehemiah's situation? Perhaps in this environment we'd assimilate into Persian culture giving only token regard to your Jewish roots (a passive faith/spectator)?

Or would we instead hold tightly to our personal faith and limit our reaction to "weeping and praying" about our people and their in-tatters national identity (an active faith/fun-runner)?

Or would we go the next step and take action (an ambitious faith/athlete)…

If you read on you will discover that Nehemiah laboured against great opposition for 12 years to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after which he obediently returned to Babylon to take up his original post.

So Nehemiah took the next step; his faith was not passive as would be a spectator and it was not just active expressing itself in purely personal terms like an athlete keeping his body fit. Nehemiah was ambitious planning and working for an outcome beyond his own interests; he ran the race to win.

Because of faith, God used a lowly bonded cupbearer to undertake a great kingdom work benefiting the lives of thousands and restoring the dignity and honour to the oppressed people of God. At the end of this adventure he humbly returned to the life he new before. But that wasn't all that God had in mind for Nehemiah…further reading advised.

Summary

So this is my thought/challenge:

It's so tempting to settle into a life-choice in which we don't think beyond our own interests. Family life and career quickly fill in all available time and before we know the most energetic and productive part of our lives is over. The major beneficiary of the bulk of our creative efforts are the businesses who have employed us and all that remains of this is a line or two on our resumes.

Let's be ambitious in the faith. Let's pioneer some great kingdom work. Let's think not only of our own interests but also of the interests of others. Let's let vision percolate inside of us. Make faith-risk-taking a lifestyle choice. Push out the envelope….think the big picture.

Unless we actively step up and make the tough choices, we will follow a hollow and faith-free pattern of decent living full of regret; always on the edge of being more but not quite getting there.

Here are your choices: Watch the race run vs. Run the race vs. Run the race to win.

I want to challenge us, and myself to be ambitious in the faith, to run the race to win!