Struggling but Perfected: Now Relax and Run Your Race of Faith

 Read 1 Corinthians 9

 

Disclaimer: I like to get high often, but don’t get to much these days.  Now to the message.

In the next service, we will look at Paul’s statement that he became all things to all people so that some might be saved. Good stuff!

But what about us? Is it just mission, mission, mission? Is there no relief in sight for our daily travails?  What’s up with those of us who believe already and want to do our best to please God?

Consider the following statements.

·       We are struggling but perfected—made complete in Christ.

·       We are a spiritual being on a journey in a vehicle of flesh

·       We are just passing through this world heading home

·       We are broken but being reassembled

·       We are called to service to the Lord in a battle he has already won

·       We will have trouble in the world but are to take courage as Jesus has overcome the world

But does this make sense?  Not to the carnal mind. The carnal mind thinks if you are right with God, then God make the world get in step with you.

So how are we to live? In loving response to all that God has done for us, the most notable for us is life in Jesus Christ.

So, how hard must we work? I know that God will finish the good work that he began in us. Why do I even need to do anything?

The two common reactions to our situation are to work like crazy to make God love us or to just kick back and let him finish what he started.

I say, relax, run your race of faith, and press on towards the goal without one hint of anxiety. RRP—like Red River Presbytery, except it’s Relax, Run, Press on.

Press on towards our goal(s)

o   Be known by our love

o   Take the gospel to the world

o   Live fully and fully live

Run your race of faith

o   He shows us his ways and paths, now GO!

o   Keep believing. Don’t stop believing (had to work in a Journey song)

o   Stay the course

Relax

o   Trust and Obey. He has you.

o   Catch your stride

o   Let the endorphins kick in, or in this case your spiritual rhythm or believer’s high

Did anyone ever see the Movie, Scent of a Woman? It had Al Pacino and Chris O’Donnell as the lead characters.

Pacino played retired U.S. Army LtCol Frank Slade. He was blind. He had seen combat but his blindness came at the hands of his stupidity. Slade also has no filter. You see why I liked the movie.

But Frank kept pressing on. He was living his life with the occasional depressed mood and even suicidal tendencies, but he didn’t quit.

Chris O’Donnell was to accompany Al Pacino during a school break. O’Donnell’s family lived on the West Coast and the school was a prestigious East Coast Academy of sorts.

So we have a temporary, struggling mentor and a kid with a problem.

Pacino takes O’Donnell to a fancy club with a dance floor. He asks him to describe the dimensions and layout of the floor. He asks a lady to dance and he is an exceptional dancer. The dance was the tango.

O’Donnell is amazed, but has to ask. What happens if you get tangled up? I love the response.

If you get Tangled up, Tango on.

Tangled up, Tango on!

You keep going and trusting and believing and living. If you get tangled up, just tango on.

o   God made us good from the very beginning.

o   We broke the perfect relationship in the perfect abode. In all fairness, that was after God created the woman, but still…

o   God is putting us back together, better than before.

That last statement shouldn’t make sense. Didn’t God make us the best from the beginning?

Let’s do a quick exercise. Everyone raise your hand as high as you can. Now raise it higher? That shouldn’t have been possible.

If we can do that, don’t you think the God has something fantastic in store for us? Press on! Keep the faith! Run your race of faith.

Enjoy the run!

Do you remember me saying that I like to get high? Back in the day, I got high 5 or 6 times a week, usually midday. The endorphins usually kicked in by mile 3 or 4 but by mile 4, I was feeling good for sure.

I was in stride and remembering why I tortured myself like this for years. It was good for my health, mental wellness (if that’s even a thing for Marnes), and it was exactly what I needed to be doing.

The next day, it was the same. It was a race that I wouldn’t finish and didn’t really want to, though there is a satisfaction to completing something, even if you were going to do it again the next day.

As Christians, we can just say, God’s got this and check out until he comes to claim me, or…

We can just say, God’s got this, relax, and enjoy the run. Do your best!

Quit beating yourselves up when you fall short. Confess, get up, and get back in your race. God will get you to the finish line which is our eternal starting blocks.

Run the Race and Relax!

Occasionally, you will hit a hill and just have to grind it out, but it’s worth it. It’s worth it.

Sometimes, it all seems so complicated. Just Tango On!

God’s got this, now run the race without anxiety. In fact, just go ahead and enjoy it. What’s today’s route?  Eyes fixed on Jesus. Just keep on following.

Amen!