Keep Going and Going

On the first day of spring, not the official first day of spring, but the first day that the weather is sunny and temperature is just right for t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, well, I get excited. As the garage door slowly rises and reveals the newly greening grass, I stand with anticipation of great things. I survey the yard, carefully picking up and sticks, rocks, trash, and anything else that might impede the year’s first mowing. I wheel my trusty green Toro to the edge of the lawn and responsibly clear away the cobwebs and dust and all other evidence of a long boring winter. I feel so motivated and the sun feels so good that I think to myself, after I mow, I’ll weed-eat, then I’ll wash my car, and then I’ll even get the garage cleaned out. It will be a great day!

Well, then I realize that I don’t have any gas for the mower. No problem, just a small delay. So, now half and hour behind, the little engine coughs and complains and then finally roars to life amid a bluish cloud of smoke. As I traverse the yard, I notice that the grass is still slightly crunchy under my feet, and the sun seems to be getting hotter on my reddening neck. No matter, I’m a man, I’m supposed to sweat and cut grass.

As I finish the front and move on to the back, I begin to dream of air conditioning and iced tea. I reason with myself that the garage is not really that bad; it can wait a few weeks. Also, it would a mistake to wash the car today, because it is supposed to rain in few days. It would be a waste of time and water! I should wait until after it rains. An hour later, the lawn is finished. It’s short and level and has those perfectly parallel stripes across it. I am proud of the way it looks, although, my clothes are all wet and clinging to me. There are little green grass clippings stuck to my legs and collecting in the crevices between my socks and shoes. I look at the weed-eater and then I look at the door to kitchen. I easily convince myself that mowing is a big enough job for one day. I take my shoes off and run inside.

Unfortunately, this can easily resemble our Christian lives. The enthusiasm and motivation of doing good and suffering in the name of Christ can turn into a sinking sense of futility when it seems that nobody cares or even notices. Paul, in 1st Corinthians 9:24, likens the Christian life to a marathon race. It’s not a sprint, it’s not about speed, or looks, it’s about endurance, it’s about finishing. And it can’t be done without discipline and training.

How can you persevere when you’ve “hit the wall?” Hebrews 12: 1-2 tell us to “throw off our weights” and to “fix our eyes on Jesus.” Jesus is our example. He endured all the way to cross, he despised its shame, and he triumphed by sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God. If you find yourself struggling with endurance, consider what the writer of Hebrews tells the Hebrew people in chapter 12, verse 4; “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” What have you had to face in your life that would stack up to what Jesus experienced? This should be motivating, this should give us security, and this should be humbling. Christ has gone before us, he has blazed the trail, he has set an example. Fix your eyes on Jesus and He will give you the strength to persevere to the finish.