In honor of marathon week, here is another old devotion that speaks of marathons and racing. Enjoy! “If you ain’t first, you’re last” As a youth director I find myself often watching dumb comedies while on bus trips. One of my favorites has to be Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby. In that movie, Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) is a Nascar driver who bases his whole career on a line that his disgruntled, deadbeat dad told him when he was a kid: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” Well – if that’s true I always finish last! Back in 2002 I ran my first (and last) marathon. While 26.2 miles is a ridiculously long ways to run, in retrospect it wasn’t the actual race that was the accomplishment. The accomplishment came from the months and months of training, discipline, and dedication leading up to the race that was the real challenge. The 26.2 mile race, at the end of the day, didn’t really matter. I had succeeded even before I stepped onto that course. And as I type this I find myself staring down the barrel of our 9th annual Homeless & Hungry event that takes place October 4-5 (fmhomelessandhungry.org). While I no longer spearhead the event, I do spearhead the golf scramble (July 28 - Fargo Country Club). Dozens of dedicated servants have worked tirelessly to prepare and equip hundreds of participants for the upcoming event. Participants will take part in a 24 hour homeless simulation to learn more about compassion and empathy. Part of the event includes ‘collecting’ for the called participants. So what if we don’t make our goals? Would we really call raising $50,000 a failure? Would 10,000 lbs of donations be disappointing? I know that when I ran my marathon I was almost 30 minutes off of my goal time. Does that mean that I ‘failed?’ And I surely wasn’t first. I believe I placed somewhere in the 8,000th place group for the Twin Cities Marathon Isn’t running a marathon (regardless of the finish time) a success? Isn’t life-altering dedication towards something like fitness and health enough? And isn’t empowering over 600 people to be the hands and feet of God a pretty dynamite accomplishment for those dedicated leaders? Regardless of the final outcome, we are called to simply show up. Minute after minute. Hour after hour. Day after day. God doesn’t need us to be the best in the world. I’m convinced that He’s more concerned about us being the best FOR the world. Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. < Erik Hatch erikhatch1@gmail erikhatch.org
Posted on: Wed, 07 May 2014 12:28:24 +0000
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