The Finish Line

I feel the need to post, different topics tumble chaotically around in my head, there are currently at least 2 other posts half-written in my draft list, and every time I sit down, I don't know what to write.

What should I share on? What is God doing in my life? Where is this lifelong adventure taking me? I don't know what to write, especially considering that my life lately doesn't feel very adventurous. Life feels, difficult, a little bit like I'm slogging through some mud hole, trying in vain to put one foot in front of the other.

How many of you find that? Daily life can be drudgery. Pursuing God is hard work. Making life mean something, downright difficult. Impacting people and sharing the gospel often just presents you with rejection after rejection.

Even just thinking about this makes me want to crawl into bed, turn out the lights and hopefully sleep until the world is magically a whole other place. Life doesn't work like that.

A lot of us expect life to be perfect. A lot of us don't want days where we slog through the mud or start sinking in quicksand. We want life to be rosy, for the flowers to smell sweet absolutely 100% all the time. We want to look perfect on the outside, and we struggle in secret through what's happening on the inside.

I think that since the Fall, sometimes our biggest mistake is pretending like there has never been a Fall, like really, sin? What's that? Struggles? I don't have those.

But we're setting ourselves up for failure. And we're setting the body of Christ up for failure as well. God knows that we struggle and that we have days where we just don't get it.

I found a quote online the other day by A.W. Tozer. He said, "It is doubtful that God has ever used a man greatly that He has not hurt deeply." And although that's not really what this post is about, really think about it, life hurts. There is not a person who has ever existed, or ever will exist that hasn't been hurt, wounded, or struggled through chapters of life.

As part of the body of Christ, we are then called to encourage those around us, using our gifts, talents, personalities, to cheer each other on in this race called life. Even when the people on either side of us may be sinking in quicksand. We are part of a body so that we can pull each other out, cover for one another, build each other up in the faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 12...and then SIDE NOTE: think of 1 Corinthians 13, that's not really a chapter on marriage, that's a chapter on what love in the body of Christ should really look like).

No one has ever gone on an adventure and expected it to be easy, or if they have, it's taken them probably all of 30 seconds to realize they got more than they bargained for. All those BMX guys and pro-snowboarders and skateboarders, they didn't get good by not getting hurt, by not getting stuck in the mud, by not taking risks. They did that, but they got themselves unstuck. They failed, and tried again, and tried again, and tried again, until they succeeded. They also have friends, family, people cheering them on, letting them know that whatever the crazy stunts they pull, someone will be right there beside them.

Life, adventure, being a Christian, not easy. Lots of failure. Lots of stuck times. Times too when you want to quit. But you can push through, there is joy, there is freedom, there is a finish line.

How sweet to cross the finish line, with a host of those who've gone before us cheering us on!

How can you encourage someone today?