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March 2007 Issue
Faith "fitness"
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When
in a stadium with thousands of other people watching
athletes perform, the cheers and the groans surge like
waves all around as they succeed or fail before our
very eyes. Even watching them on television can grip
us in a frenzy of joy or gloom.
The athletes are doing what they have
trained relentlessly to do – to run or jump, to
throw or hit a ball, to skate or swim or dance as flawlessly
as possible. Because of their conditioning, they make
it all look so easy. Their movements are coordinated,
fluid and graceful.
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It takes enormous discipline to move that
smoothly and quickly. It takes practice and then more practice
– which in turn means continual self-control plus the
energy and concentration that come from the right nutrition
and rest.
Self-control can sound awfully repressive,
especially if everybody else you know is living free and easy.
But all that self-control is geared toward one thing –
to free you, so you can achieve what others find impossible.
Your body responds to the challenges that you give it when
it needs to engage in a demanding performance or competition.
In the Christian’s life of the spirit,
we need the same kind of self-control and discipline in order
to faithfully follow our Lord. Life itself surprises us with
a variety of opportunities. Sometimes, we’re challenged
to be truthful when a small (or big) deception looks so much
easier. Sometimes, we’re called to be generous to others
when it feels like we have enough needs of our own.
At such times, if we haven’t practiced
asking the Lord for his grace and haven’t much accustomed
and conditioned ourselves toward doing deeds of truth, justice
and generosity, then they won’t just come to us “naturally.”
We’ll fall on our face. We’ll bumble and stumble.
We’ll even run in the wrong direction. We won’t
be able to move with dependable freedom and grace.
Yes, self-control is saying “no”
to some pleasures and opportunities. But we need it in order
to say “yes” to the Lord.
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