My Birthday into the Body of Christ

I was Baptized 8 years ago today. It has been such an amazing journey living my life with the resurrected Christ. The journey has had its ups & downs, but doesn’t every journey? It is a constant struggle actually, I continually do the things I shouldn’t do and fail to do the things I ought to do, wretched man that I am. Thankfully Christ was faithful to go to the cross, descend into hell, take my sins to the place from whence they came, conquer death, conquer corruption, and by his resurrection offer life to all who believe in His Name, the Name which is above every Name. The Name which we do not quite fully understand…The Name which is defined by “I am who I am.” The Name YHWH. The Name which is always accompanied by His presence. He is who He is and He will always be with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. If God is for us, who could be against us? Many could be against us, but it is trivial in comparison. The Creator of All things continually creates and sustains us. The Very Same God who created all things in the beginning now recreates us through the life He offers us through His Resurrection. Crazy: the same God who created us now re-creates us. My first birth has been followed by my second birth when I was baptized, I have been re-created. Boggles my mind. The old man is gone, dead. I died to him 8 years ago. The life I now live, I in live in Christ who loved me and gave himself for me.

These thoughts may seem completely random, but I just want to shout from the rooftops that I know the King of kings and Lord of lords and I want everyone to know Him. The journey is difficult and does not offer simplicity or security. It is painful. It is painful because of our sin, not because He is care-less or incapable of taking away the pain. That is the whole point of the Incarnation of Christ: God as God could not empathize with our pain; He needed to become a man in order to empathize with our pain. Jesus Christ is more human than you or I, and He understands our struggle. He did not suffer on the cross in our place so that we no longer have to suffer; He suffered on the cross on our behalf so that we could have a saving companion with us in the midst of our suffering.

Have I learned all there is to know about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Not even close. And even if I could somehow comprehend all the things of God, there is no way I could have the adequate words to express the thoughts. God is a beautiful mystery. Kinda like my wife in a sense…Sara is a beautiful mystery and she continues to be a mystery to me. The day I figure her out is the day I lie to myself and realize that I have stopped pursuing her. I pursue her because the mystery, the mystery is beautiful. That is why men always have affairs with “the secretary,” “the Brazilian model,” “the next door neighbor,” et al…it is because we find them mysterious. The mystery is “sexy.” Have I just equated God with being a mysterious and sexy person? Yes. God is beautiful and He is mysterious. He is so much more than we can ever comprehend.

Today is my baptismal birthday into the Body of Christ, thank you for celebrating with me.

Are all of us still without understanding?

My church has recently been going through a sermon series entitled, “Jesus Asked?…” It has been wonderful tackling the tough questions which Jesus asked. His questions are quite thought provoking. This morning, while translating Matthew 15.10-20, I came across a question which Jesus asked. He asked, “Are all of you still without understanding?” Here is the text in context:

And calling the crowd, Jesus said to them: “Hear & understand. That which comes into the mouth does not defile the man; rather, that which goes out from the mouth is that which defiles the man.”

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were scandalized upon hearing this saying?”

But Jesus answered and said to them, “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them go. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

Then Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”

Then Jesus asked, “Are all of you still without understanding? Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth, then enters the stomach, and is pooped out into the toilet? However, that which proceeds from the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles the man. For from the heart come: evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are what defile the man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

It is interesting that Peter was the only one who asked the question, but Jesus turns around and asked all of them if they were without understanding, which they certainly were. Then Jesus proceeds to expound upon the question in a rather comical manner, you can almost picture him saying, “Seriously you guys, you don’t understand that you eat, digest, and poop it out?”

But, this is truly a serious question. Are you still without understanding? Stop worrying about what you eat, and about the ceremonial cleansing. What matters is what goes out of the mouth, because that shows what is in your heart.

Personally, I am convicted by these words. I know that evil thoughts come from my heart and leave my mouth. I need to guard my tongue. I need my soul to be cleansed by the Spirit. I pray that I will stop focusing on actions alone, but be renewed in my spirit so that pure actions will flow forth from my purified heart with joy.

We pray these things, but I ask: are all of us still without understanding? If we truly understood, would we continue to do the things we do?

Earning Salvation?

Preface: The Jews have 613 laws written in the Tanakh. These laws were often viewed as rules to be followed so that the Jews could be viewed as righteous before God, namely, so that they could be saved from death and corruption. Paul, a man who was well versed in the Tanakh, was writing about what was required to be saved from death and corruption. He pretty much turns preconceived ideas upside down. What follows is my revamped  translation of Romans 4.1-10:

What then shall we say stands discovered about flesh by Abraham our forefather?

If Abraham had been made righteous through works, then his boasting would not be about God. What is it that the scriptures say? They say that “Abraham believed God and his faith was counted as his righteousness.”

Now, to the one whom works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but his wage is counted as a debt.

But to the one whom does not work – yet believes in the one who justifies the ungodly – his faith is counted as righteousness. It is a gift, because he did not work for it. Indeed, even as David said:

Blessed is the man whom God counts righteous without works;

Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered;

Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.

Well now, is this blessing to the circumcised or to the uncircumcised as well? Early we affirmed; the faith was counted as righteousness for Abraham. How then was it considered? Was it counted after he was circumcised or while he was still uncircumcised?

It was not while circumcised; rather his righteousness was given to him by grace while he was uncircumcised!!!

I had never put thought into verse 1 before where it speaks about “flesh.” It must be in reference to the flesh of man before and/or after circumcision. Paul is trying to establish a case for what we can learn about righteousness. It seems as though most interpretations view this passage as saying “the flesh” is in reference to Abraham being our father according to the flesh – but no! Context and syntax show that Paul is talking about circumcision and whether or not this Act of the Law helped bring forth righteousness.

Obviously, we can see that works of the Law did not make Abraham righteous. In fact, it could not have been considered part of his righteousness because Abraham was accounted as being righteous before he was even circumcised. This is what stands discovered about the flesh: Abraham’s righteousness was given to him by grace while he was uncircumcised in the flesh and because he was counted righteous simply by having faith, so are we!!!

In an ironic twist, do our actions demonstrate this belief that works do not impart righteousness?

Going to the House of Mourning

“A good name is better than a good ointment,

And the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.

It is better to go to the house of mourning

Than to go to a house of feasting,

Because that is the end of every man,

And the living takes it to heart.

Sorrow is better than laughter,

For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.”

Yes, this is a verse from the bible (Ecclesiastes 7.1-3). Kinda crazy, huh? It’s true though. Every time I ride my bike to work I go through a cemetery. I have visited a few other cemeteries as well and each visit is a spiritual experience. During my last prolonged visit, I began to look at the names, dates, and epitaphs.

I was suddenly taken aback when I noticed one lady was buried at 100 years of age. This was not the striking part, I noticed that she was buried on the same plot as her husband – her husband whom had died 50 years before her!!! She remained faithful to him even after his death. What was her life like? Was it lonely? Did she have children? Did they constantly remind her of her dear husband? How did he die? How did God give her grace to go on for another 50 years?

What astonished me beyond reason was to see so many people from the 1800s who only lived to be 30 something and to see how many children had only aged days before their departure. It was overwhelming to try and imagine all of the sorrow which came about because of their deaths.

I noticed one gentleman bring flowers to his deceased mother and it brought me to tears. He stayed for a while and picked up twigs in the grave’s vicinity, so as to honor her place of rest.

I looked around and saw thousands of people in the ground and it was overwhelming. Then to realize that we all face the same fate. On my way back home, I could only picture the people I ran into as lying in the grave someday. I pondered, why do we honor the dead?

I wondered, where are all the doctors buried? The politicians? The activists? The civil rights leaders? The local heroes? The scum? The prisoners? The prostitutes? The judges? The lawyers?

The Epitaphs do not tell us their stories. We are not able to distinguish the righteous from the wicked. They all have the same end. The are buried next to one another and will soon be forgotten. They leave behind no lasting legacy. So, why do we strive after the wind? Why do we grasp for those things which amount to nothing? I realized that to go to the house of mourning is a good thing because it forces me to recognize what truly matters. When it all comes down to it, “the conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep his words, because this applies to every person.”

Why is it that I still choose to feast, as opposed to going to the house of mourning? There is a time for both, but I ought to take it to heart that the one is better than the other. Do I really believe this – “no, if I am truly honest with myself.” I can see why the one has brought me closer to God and that it puts my heart in right alignment; however, because of my selfishness, it is so hard to actually live in light of this on a daily basis.

I hope and pray that God will continue to draw me to the house of mourning so that I can live in light of this one fate which befalls all men. I hope that this realization will continually remind me that I ought to stop living for myself.

I encourage each of you to visit the house of mourning so that you may enter into a time of reflection.

Conquering Physics and Conquering Theology

A few days ago, one of my professors showed me an example he was given 40 years ago. Obviously, this made a big impact on his life and after hearing what he said; I too was struck with wonder. I have been pondering what he said – and then I decided to tweak it and apply physics to it. I will try to convey the results in a simple manner. It begins with this simple graph:

And he shared with us the fact that Jesus can relate with us in our sin because he conquered each and every temptation. If you have conquered “Sin A” and have moved onto “Sin B,” then you personally are able to empathize with a person who is struggling with “Sin A.” Likewise, in your struggles with “Sin B,” you are not able to help someone with “Sin C” because you have not conquered that sin.

Essentially, you can empathize with the people who struggle with the things you have conquered, but you cannot empathize if you have failed to conquer the sin yourself. Jesus conquered all sins, thus he can empathize with all of us and help us in our struggle with sin. Succumbing to sin has nothing to do with it. It is non sequitur when people argue that Jesus cannot relate with us because he failed to sin.

Jesus conquered all sins to the infinite degree. When I ponder the fact that he conquered it to the infinite degree, it makes me think that you can only reach the limit when you reach infinity. Namely, let us observe the relationship between speed and energy. You may never reach the speed of light if you have mass, unless you were to apply an infinite amount of energy. When you start moving, a small amount of energy propels you a long way, however, as your speed increases; you need more and more energy to only slightly increase your speed. Namely, the speed and energy graph looks something like this:

If we apply this principle to sin, we can say that our ability to conquer sin is related to the Spirit indwelling us. I will call this the NIKA / Spirit graph:

Ultimate NIKA (victory over sin) can only be met when we are perfectly and infinitely filled with the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit, sins “A” and “B” are easily conquered, but then the more difficult sins become evermore difficult to conquer and we need more and more of the Spirit inside of us. The Son of God became a man and was perfectly filled with the Spirit as a man and had Victory over all sins. And now we have access to the same Spirit because he was raised from the dead and he extends us his grace.

“But in all things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any created thing, will be able to seperate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8.37-39)

Are you struggling with a certain issue in your life? If so, do believe it would be beneficial to seek counsel from a friend or mentor who has had victory over this type of sin?

American History X, Movie Review

American History X is a movie which covers a 24 hour period in the life of a family immersed in white supremacy. This 24 hour period is pivotal in their lives, and there are many flashbacks which show us how this situation has come to pass.

The 24 hour period shows the following in a chiastic (A-B-C-B’-A’) structure:

A: The height of Danny’s hatred towards blacks

B: Danny’s escape from white supremacy

C: Danny’s epiphany that racism is pointless

B’: A sense that Danny truly loves all people, including blacks

A’: Danny being murdered by a black boy

This movie is incredibly ironic and disheartening in the fact that Danny is hatefully murdered by a black kid after he has realized that he wants to love people and not hate them. It is situations like this where we must realize as Qoheleth (the teacher in the book of Ecclesiastes) does, that both the good and the bad alike meet the same end: death.

With this said, I wish to now describe in more detail, parts of the movie which help us see what has happened and why:

Danny is a high school boy who has been given an assignment to write a paper on a civil rights leader: he chooses to write a paper on Hitler. In his own words, “I hate anyone that is not white protestant.” His teacher is outraged and sends him to the African American principle, Dr. Sweeney. Dr. Sweeney gives Danny a choice, be expelled or he becomes his new history teacher and is told to write a new paper, a paper which analyses his brother, Derek, who is being released from prison that very day… After his meeting with the principle Danny has a run-in with some black kids in the bathroom and there is nearly a fight as Danny blows (cigarette) smoke in their faces. The black boys walk away… (Note the irony: His hatred for them is like smoke…it is like dust in the wind, it vanishes almost instantly….as we will see).

Dr. Sweeney happened to know Danny’s brother very well – Derek was the protégé of Cameron, the networker of the white supremacist on the west coast and Derek was going to be the figure head leader of this movement. After the crime of what Derek did, he literally became a God to the other white supremacist.

Flashback, the crime: Derek played a game of basketball with some black guys, and won: the stakes – the black guys had to leave and never play on those courts again. Later on, these same black guys tried to steal Derek’s truck in the middle of the night. Danny looked out the window and saw it happening – he hesitantly told Derek that they were breaking in… Derek went ballistic and shot one of the men point blank. Then he shot the other and he was wounded. Then he fired a barrage into the back of the escape car, missing the driver as he drove off. He walked back to the wounded man and forced him to “bite the curb” – Danny runs towards his brother to stop him, but too late – he gruesomely stomps on the back of his head… the cops arrive and Derek is filled with pride as his bare chest reveals his very large tattoo of a swastika. Danny is horror stricken. Derek is arrested and given three years of time in prison. Had Danny testified about his brother’s hatred in this crime, it would have been a life sentence.

Derek did not allow his family to visit him when he was in prison. This allowed Danny to follow in his footsteps: “I’d never seen anyone die before. The sound of that kid’s head splitting open on the curb went right through me. It stayed in my dreams for months, until slowly it changed into something I couldn’t recognize. The scary thing is it doesn’t bother me anymore. For a long time I thought that night was proof that Derek was right.”

And this is when Cameron, the networker, became Danny’s mentor while Derek was in prison. Danny said, “People look at me and see my brother…” Danny was truly beginning to follow the patterns of his brother, Derek.

When Derek was in prison, he befriended other Nazi’s. However, he worked with a Blackman. He soon realized that, “in the joint, you the nigga, not me.” After a year, he sees his fellow Nazi’s doing deals with Hispanics and he gets very upset about ‘talk and no action.’ Overtime, he becomes friends with the black laundry guy. He makes a bold move and turns his back on the Nazi’s in prison by sitting at a different table. A little while later, the Nazi’s gang rape him and almost kill him in the showers – the prison guards even allowed it too happen. During his recovery in the hospital, Dr. Sweeny (the principle and former teacher of Derek) comes to visit him. Derek cries and Sweeny is there to comfort him. Derek is scared for his life every day in prison, all can see his chest revealing the large swastika and his old Nazi friends no longer accept him. No one is on his side… when he is released from prison, he realizes that it is the black laundry man who kept him alive, he had communicated with the other races in prison that Derek was actually a cool guy and was no longer a white supremacist.

The morning of Derek’s release is amazing: he is embracing his mother and sister with love and coming up with a plan for them to escape from the white supremacy which had plagued their lives… meanwhile, this is when Danny was being given a new history assignment from Dr. Sweeney. Danny comes home and is completely taken aback.

That evening there is a party at Cameron’s place for Derek’s coming home. The party comes to an abrupt halt when Derek announces that he is no longer a white supremacist. He and Danny flee for the lives. Danny is very upset with Derek and he is very confused. This is when Derek sits Danny down and describes what prison was like and all the hypocrisy which he had seen and how race barriers were not the problem.

Derek feels lucky. What he did was wrong. How did he buy into everything? It was because he was pissed off. Nothing he ever did made him feel any better. It just made him feel more lost. Derek does not tell Danny what to do, but he wants Danny to understand. Danny finally understands. After their conversation, Derek and Danny are in their bedroom – the white supremacist Nazi laden room – and they both begin to tear down all the Nazi memorbellia together. They were entering into a new life together. The film then shows two things happen at the same time: Danny working on his paper and Derek taking a cleansing shower. When Derek steps out of the shower, the swastika on his chest is very large, but as he looks in the mirror, you can tell that he is a new man by his face (the acting is superb!). Danny is writing his paper during this time and asking: how did it all start? Derek would say that it all started when his father was murdered when trying to rescue black people from a burning building… Danny says, no, it actually started earlier…. You see, Derek loved Dr. Sweeny, and he was a great student. One evening while at the dinner table, their father began to speak highly against blacks and blamed them for all problems and told Derek to be careful of Dr. Sweeney, and Derek bought into it… the father was racist, however, passively aggressive only…not one to actually raise his fist – Danny begins to weep when he realizes that this was how it started.

Danny has begun a new life; he finishes his paper and gets some coffee with Derek on his way to school. Derek says goodbye to Danny as he trots into the school – as he leaves, minutes later something inside of him becomes fearful and he runs after his brother. He is too late, only to realize that the black kid that Danny encountered 24 hours earlier shoots Danny point blank in the school restroom. The paper which Danny had written was in his hands when he was shot and fell to the floor. Derek begins to scream “Oh Jesus, God, what did I do? Oh God, oh God!” And this is when the conclusion is read from Danny’s paper:

“Hate is baggage. Life is too short to be pissed off all the time. It is not worth it… ‘We are not enemies, but friends, we must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.’”

This movie is one of the most amazing films I have ever seen; yet it is also one of the hardest movies to sit through because it faces real problems in our messed up world under the sun. It engages with some of the hardest issues known. Can hatred satisfy? It shows us that both the good and bad go to the same end and that our time of departure can not be named. It shows us the injustice in the world; the transformation of souls; the fact that sin still contains consequences even after we have admitted the wrong in it. It shows us that those who claim to be Christians are often highly misguided. It shows us that in the reality of life, there is truly a season for everything, and we are not in control of those seasons. And it shows us that hatred will never satisfy. I believe that Qoheleth would share this story with others and that through his portrayal of this story he could lead people to begin on a journey of wanting to know more of Christ.

Questions:

1. Have you had someone in your life that was like Dr. Sweeney (i.e., someone who had faith in you even when you lacked the faith in yourself)?
2. Have you ever experienced being the rejected outcast in a social situation? Was it dependent on Race? Wealth? Education? Gender? Religion? Sexuality? Weight?
3. Have you ever been the victimizer?
4. Question: Have you ever done something because you were pissed off? Did that act of retribution ever bring about true happiness or just make you feel more isolated?
5. Why was Danny killed?
6. Do you believe that life is too short to be pissed off all the time? If so, what are you going to do about it?
7. Derek screams out, “Oh Jesus, God, what did I do? Oh God, oh God!” as he holds his lifeless brother in his arms – do you think that Derek truly understands why his brother was killed? Would you blame yourself as well? What are the chances of Derek becoming a white supremacist again because of this act of retribution? What are the chances of him reaching out to the black community in love? What would you do?

Activity is a function of Identity

Activity is a function of identity. What I do is a function of who I am. Not the other way around. Who I am is not a function of what I do! Proposing to my wife was a function of me being a man in love with this woman. My action flowed out of who I was.

When a person truly understands their identity, the action flows out of that person effortlessly. And the person who is truly comfortable in their identity does not have to prove who they are, so they are not ashamed or disappointed when their actions fail other people’s standards. They truly understand who they are.

It would be great for the Bride of Christ to realize who she is, but this is not something we can force upon her. She does not understand fully who she is because she does not fully know her lover, the One who defines her identity. Someday she will know him fully, even as she is fully known by him.

We cannot force the Bride to do certain tasks. What we can do is respond to the love of God, and he is the one who initiates such activities.

Some readers may be thinking, “This is ridiculous! You are taking away all of our responsibilities and this will make us apathetic!” And I would respond like so: Yes, this paradigm would eliminate all responsibilities. But check this out, have you ever observed a man and woman in love. The man totally takes initiative and the woman will respond to whatever his leading may be! If we, as the Bride, would do this more often, much more would be accomplished than not. Psalm 46.10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” We strive all too often, it needs to stop. This is when we will begin to know God.

Be strong in the Lord

This is a working translation of Ephesians 6.10-20 which I have been working on this morning. I have formatted it a little more poetically, as opposed to the prose format of most translations. I am a visual learner, I hope that this might be a blessing to any readers of this blog…

“Finally, be strong in the Lord – indeed, in the power of his strength. Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil, for our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual wickedness in the heavenly realms. On account of this struggle, take the full armor of God, in order that you all may be able to resist in the evil day, indeed, having achieved all – to stand.

Therefore stand!

Having girded your loins in truth and

Having put on the breastplate of righteousness and

Having laced up your feet in the readiness of the gospel of peace.

In all things, having taken the shield of faith

With which you will be able to put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

And receive the helmet of salvation

And receive the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.

During all prayer and entreaty, praying in the Spirit at all times. Indeed, keeping alert in the Spirit for all the saints, with all perseverance and entreaty. And on behalf of me, that words may be given when I open my mouth, to boldly make known the mystery of the good news, of which I am an ambassador in chains, in order that I may boldly speak the good news as it ought to be spoken by me.”

***

Lord, help me stand firm. Help me clothe myself in the power of your strength. I need to resist the evil struggles. I need your Spirit to help me stand against the schemes of the devil. You became a man and relied upon the power of the Spirit to clothe you in the full armor of God, and you resisted temptation; you resisted to the point of shedding blood; you resisted to the point of death on the cross. Thank you for leading The Way.

Temptation

What would have been the consequences if Jesus had yielded on any one of the temptations recorded in Matthew 4?

In order to answer that question we need to first make some clarifications. God is impassible and God is not tempted with evil (cf. James 1.3). We can downplay the impassibility of God (basically, the idea that God does not suffer) by claiming:

1. Deny the reality of Christ suffering (which leads to Gnosticism);

2. Give up Christ’ divine status (which leads to Arianism); or

3. Claim divine actions and human experiences have different persons (Nestorianism).

We know, however, that Jesus is one person with two natures. Coessential with the Father as to deity, and coessential with us – the very same one – as to his humanity, being like us in every respect apart from sin.

Everything that Jesus did as the Son of God was done as a man – whether it be eating food or raising someone from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, but it was, nonetheless, as a man that he did so. The Son of God did not suffer as God in a man, for to do so would mean that he was not a man. The Son of God suffers as a man.

When the Son of God was faced with temptations, he faced the temptations as a man. And when he conquered the temptations, he conquered the temptations as a man relying upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

If Jesus had failed the temptations, mankind would continue suffering the death and corruption which had been brought into the world through Adam. However, Jesus, the second Adam, was able to overcome temptations as a man relying upon the Holy Spirit. He was able to undo the corruption of man and then he was raised from the dead after he suffered death by crucifixion, which was his crowning victory over death. And now, the Spirit is sent to dwell in every person’s heart who follows after Christ. We have the same spirit dwelling in us which dwelled in him. This means that we too, though we suffer as men and women, and able to conquer temptation as men and women who rely upon the Holy Spirit.

The Word of God, who is above suffering in his own nature, suffered by appropriating human nature and obtained victory over suffering. It is God’s kenosis (self emptying) which gives us theosis (salvation).

THE Painful Run

Today I went for a run. The first few minutes were filled with ecstasy, but then my right knee began to hurt. I pushed through the pain and kept running. It continued hurting the whole time, but I knew my limit. I knew I could push through the pain. I knew how fast to go even though at times it was not pleasant. I did not give up.

Right when my knee began to hurt, I was reminded of my Lord Jesus Christ. And I was reminded of what the apostle Paul wrote on multiple occasions concerning our relationship with God. Essentially, he tells us we need to run the race with endurance; we need to beat our bodies and make them our slaves; we need to press through the hard times; we have a companion with us in the midst of our suffering.

The entire time I was in pain, the only thing I could think of was pressing through – not the run, but pressing through in my relationship with Christ. The run was simply a reflection; the run was a spiritual exercise. I did not expect this to happen when I left the house this morning, but it did. God went running with me. I needed to be reminded of this today.

There are too many times when I stop running and start walking or even worse just strait out lay down in the middle of the road when I am confronted with my sinfulness (disclaimer: I have never laid down in the road while running). I need to keep running strong in the middle of the hard times. It is far too simple to give up. It is hard to keep going strong because it is painful.

When I finished running, I felt good. I knew I had not given up. I want to say the same about my relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit when I conclude this life hear on earth. I want to be able to say with confidence that I knew I had not given up. And I want to hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” I desire nothing more.

I gave this post the definite article “THE Painful Run” because I need to remind myself that our spiritual journey with Christ, though amazing, is extremely painful because it makes us confront ourselves. Without Christ, we are filled with nothing more than death and corruption. Christ died on our behalf and has given us life and incorruption – he has undone what we did to ourselves. But it requires living in a process, the process of having life and incorruption requires dying with Christ. That is the only way we can be resurrected from the dead and clothe ourselves with him. His blood which covers us makes us white as snow.