Great South Bay 5K

Today, I ran a 5K.  But really, that is not at all the story for today.

Today, while I was running the 5K, my beautiful wife and darling daughter both walked the same 5K as well.  For each of them, it was the first "event" they have walked in, and I have to say, I am so very proud of them.  They set a goal, when they agreed to do it, of completing the 5K in one hour or less.

The weather was absolutely spectacular, with not a cloud in the sky and a crisp 52 degrees.  The race went off at exactly 8:30AM and I said good-bye to them and headed out running.  My run was not bad, with a great first two miles and a struggle at the end, but I'm happy with my time, overall.

Once I got in, I rushed to the car to get the camera and get ready to catch their finish.  They called me with 0.5 miles left and I knew they were setting a great pace.

Well, they both met their goal IN SPADES!.  Faith trotted across the finish line in 52:43 and Christine came in just behind her in 53:20.

I just want to shout, as loud as I can,

I AM PROUD OF MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER!

To The End

That God is a faithful God is a fact that many people, myself included, can attest to.  It is often said that God is "faithful to the end."  While this is, in my mind, doubtless true, I posit that there may be meaning behind such a statement that you may not see at first glance.

God is always faithful.  He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deut 21:6,8).  He is faithful even when we are faithless (2 Tim 2:13).  The Bible also states that His love towards us is great and His faithfulness endures forever (Psalm 117:2).  But is there more to that phrase than just God's enduring faithfulness?  I believe there is.  God is faithful to the end.  His word declares that God has a plan for each of our lives (Jer. 29:11).  And to that plan, or to that end, He will always remain faithful.

Imagine a blacksmith, making a sword.  He has a plan, knowing exactly what kind of sword he is making.  He begins by plunging a raw piece of metal into a furnace.  It remains in there until the instant the smith knows it is ready.  Then, out it comes and immediately, the smith begins pounding it with a hammer.  Then, after the precise number of blows, into the water it goes, only to be returned to the fire yet again.

This does not sound comfortable from the point of view of the piece of metal.  Yet the blacksmith knows exactly what he is making and will continue to do everything necessary until that raw piece of metal becomes a finely-honed sword.  That blacksmith remains faithful to the end throughout the whole process, keeping the plan for the finished sword in mind the whole time.

In much the same way, God is taking these raw lumps of metal called "you and I" and He is forming something wonderful with us.  He has a plan in mind; He knows what He is making us into.  And He is willing to do what it takes to form us.  Even if it means plunging us into the fires of adversity or striking us with the hammer of trials.  He knows exactly what it needed, no more and no less, to form in us what He has purposed.

And I dare say that it is precisely because He is working in us to produce His plan for us that we can ultimately and entirely trust Him.  Because we know that He is in control and that He will work all things together for our good (Rom 8:28), we can yield to His process.  We can put our trust in Him, even through the trials and adversities we face, knowing that God is at work producing something beautiful in our lives and knowing that He will do exactly and ONLY what is needed to accomplish His purpose.

Yes, God is always faithful.  ALWAYS faithful to the end!

Are you "rechargeable" or "plug-in"?

These days, almost everything that requires electricity, you can get in a "rechargeable" form.  Vacuums, mixers, razors, circular saws, music players and telephones, just to name a few (obviously).  You plug them in for just a little while, then they run for minutes/hours/days from that one charge.  It's really an amazing convenience, no?  I mean, the freedom you get without a power cord hanging from your cordless sweeper is just grand.

Too many of us, quite often myself included, are treating our relationship with God as if we "rechargeable" beings, though.  Right about now, you're probably asking, "What is this guy talking about?"  Allow me to expound a bit.

You see, we go to church on a Sunday morning and plug ourselves in for a while.  We experience the joys of His presence in worship and praise.  We get encouraged by the preaching of His word.  In short, we get all charged up and ready to go to work.  Then we unplug and go home.  Too often, though, we expect to live off that "charge" for the rest of the week.

Jesus spoke these words in the book of John, chapter 15, verse 4:

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me." 

We need to continually abide in Him.  Not just for a while on Sunday morning.  Not even just for a few minutes at the start of each day.  But hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute and breath-by-breath.  He is our only source of power to live the life He has called us to.  If we have any hope of bearing fruit in this life that will last, we need to stay plugged-in to Him all the time.