Drop the Stuff and Run the Race

I can't imagine running in tomorrow's Chicago Marathon since running is not one of my favorite pastimes. Running over 26 miles sounds like wicked torture. But I started pondering this week: what if I ran a marathon carrying a big box of my favorite things. Could my favorite books, mementos, and good-luck charms give me the extra push I need to finish the race? No... not likely.

A rich man in Mark's Gospel approaches Jesus with an interesting question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" He really doesn't know and I'm sure this is a question that has been bugging him for some time. There must be some hole within his heart that's telling him that his life just is not on the right path. He knows about God's Law. He's learned about the Ten Commandments and follows them. Is there something that he is missing? If there is something missing he's certain he can find and posses it.

Jesus understands the rich man's struggles. He knows that the rich man's question is sincere. The poor guy truly wants the answer so he can find the peace of God's eternal life. Jesus feels terrible for the man and loves him, but that doesn't prevent him from giving the rich man the genuine answer he needs to hear. It is an answer that the rich man surly didn't expect. "Give away your stuff," Jesus says. "Then come follow me."

Oh the grief the rich man felt with this answer... a deep grief. Why? Because its the answer he least expected, but at the same time the answer he has known all along because it is the one answer he just is not able to follow at that point in his life.

If I were to ask Jesus this very same question i suspect his response might very well be: run a marathon. (Yes that opens a big box of issues, I know.) And being the loving, but challenging, Savior he is, he might even give me a little advise. "If you're going to run that marathon, you are not going to want to run it with a box load of stuff. Give it up."

Yes, give it up. It only ties us down. The baggage we carry, whether it be our stuff or our sin or our worries, prevent us from living the hope-filled, liberating life of faith we could otherwise be living.

This doesn't happen over night. I took a look at a marathon training website. It takes 18 weeks for a novice runner to train to run a marathon. It is a disciplined regimen of daily 3-mile runs, cross training, a weekly longer run and rest. The problem is that I would be out by day number two! A three mile run??? I think I'll need a 18 week training program just to get to that point.

Living a life of faith that reveals God's gift of eternal life to you does not come over night. Giving up our dependence and reliance on our stuff takes time and discipline. But you can start somewhere. If you are carrying a 30lb box of stuff... go through it one pound at a time. If you buried in your home with room after room of things you have hoarded... start with one corner. If you are used to keeping all of your money for your own use... start today by giving 1% of your income away. And if that sounds to you like a 3-mile run sounds to me, then give 0.5% or 0.1%. It's important though that you use percents instead of an amount, because its not about the amount you give, but the amount that God has blessed you with in the first place.

Nothing is impossible with God. If a life of living faith is the marathon you are facing then remember you don't do it alone. Through God's Spirit you will be encouraged and inspired. You can do this. Don't fall into the rich man's trap and depart in despair. You can do this. You do not need to live your life following the dead end trap of stuff.

Why are thousands of men and women running the Chicago Marathon this weekend? Because there is a sense of great joy and accomplishment that comes from knowing that you were able to finish such a daunting task. What a great feeling it is, they say.

Well, likewise, the rewards of living a life of faith are tremendous:

- Liberated from the dead weight of dead stuff.

- Greater understanding of the roll God plays in blessing you every day

- Helping others through your generosity

- A real faith in the eternal life given to you through Christ

- Receiving a hundredfold more than enough of the things you need to live.

Drop your stuff and come and run the race. Don't miss out on this life of faith another day!