and so i run
not too long ago i started to run; now i am not a big running fan so i just run about a mile and a half - which is actually just jog. i use to ride the bike at the gym, but as of late money is tight so the gym is out - and so i run.
now, the cool thing is i get too spend time running and just thinking to myself - running and thinking - i like that - it is my "zen time" - where i can envision changes i need to make and opportunities i can see coming my way - i like the run time, and so i run.
today, i noticed something very interesting - as i was running i noticed that if i keep my eye on where i am going, i get winded faster - but, if i keep my eyes down, looking at the journey, with the occasional look up, i spend more time thinking about other things and less time getting winded - that impressed me enough to be thinking [during my looking down time] about my faith walk [run] and what'[s happening to me in the process - because i am in the process of completely losing my religion - which is cool, because in that i believe i am finding God.
you see, if we spend our time looking at where we want to be we miss out on so many things - like the wonder of the run - the ability to just ponder the possibilities and notice that the cracks in the sidewalk will not trip you up - but, if we are looking up at the destination we miss the flowers planted along the way, we miss the dips in the road that cause us to trip, we lose track of the rhythm of the run and we miss the opportunity to just be with ourselves and God - because we are thinking about the destination, we miss the wonders of the trip.
i like the journey, the destination is not that impressive to me - it is not that i "get to go to heaven" that desires my heart to know God - it is learning all that God wants from me that counts - because if i only think in terms of "going to heaven" i miss out on what it means to live a life dedicated to christ, dedicated to his teachings, dedicated to achieving the light that flowed from christ to others, dedicated to knowing how grace, love and forgiveness are the centers of all we do and all we can offer the world - because in the reality of the moment we know we can not offer anything to anyone - we do not offer heaven, we do not offer salvation, we do not offer life - we can only offer ourselves and let God work in the lives of others - and so i run.
3 comments:
I haven't really embraced the "god hates religion" bandwagon. I can understand the appeal of missional living and rejecting organized religion or church, but the word "religion" to me sounds neutral to the emergent argument.
For example, if someone said to me, "you're a religious person?" I'd say "Ya."
I don't see how the word religion could be connected with the modern church or the emerging church. It's like connecting the word "culture" with Canada, and then saying that someone who moves to USA is loosing there culture... oh, wait a second, that makes sense.
Okay, my mistake. If you mean that you're loosing YOUR religion, not as a rejection of "religion" but as the loss of YOUR religion in exchange for the religion that comes from God, then that makes sense. hmmmn... loosing MY religion, gaining God's... that's interesting.
I think that your link on the sidebar to ncc is one "C" short.
"They worship me with their lips but their hearts are far from me" - that's what I saw in church - but I think it was more 'me' than 'them'.
Five or so years ago, when I acknowledged out loud that I hated church, my relationship with Christ blossomed -- I started to love his word, to recognize his voice.
I attend church regularly (my wife is a pastor!), and I now see that others are also trying to know Christ, but through human-scripted rules, not through radical obedience to his word and acceptance of his grace.
Good word John. I've been reading ginkworld for over a year and have appreciated and learned from your musings. This marks my first comment.
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