Running YOUR Race!

Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

I was reading some rules for a race today. One of the rules said this: Once a race has begun, each team is responsible for remaining in the center of their respective lane until they cross the finish line. A team that wanders outside their lane into another lane may be “disqualified.” As I read that, it made me think about this:

Don’t you hate it when you want to do your best to live Christ-like and yet old ungodly and fleshly habits creep back into your life? And one that we all hate in our self is when we act like we’ve been appointed to be a part of a commission to observe someone else’s life to decide whether what they are or are not doing is acceptable to you and everyone else.

You may even go so far as to take it upon yourself to either give them your unasked for opinion or at least enter into a discussion with others about what you think they are or are not doing right in their life.

Luke 6:41-42 MSG says it like this. “It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.”

God didn’t assign any of us to decide how another person should walk out their God-given path or the day-to-day details of their life. He didn’t because a) it’s not our business – it’s between them and God, and b) it takes all of our focus, energy, and time just to walk out our own path before God in the best we can.

We should be like a runner on an Olympic track keeping our eyes on OUR path and being careful not to wander into the lane next to us getting our self disqualified from the race. We must focus on running our best race as we represent Jesus in this life!

II Timothy 2:14-15 MSG ~ Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God’s people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. Concentrate on doing your best for God…

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt