Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22
I guess at my core, I'm a guy who loves lists. Especially lists with three items! You know, three points and a prayer! So here is my list for life. And of course, it has three points!
#1 Live Righteously
Number one is number one for a reason, it guides every other decision. Our choices are what make us. Deciding to choose the right path will make all the difference in the world. It first comes down to knowing that “right thing." Imagine going to a race and lining up without knowing the actual distance you would be running. That actually sounds like it would be a great race to watch! But not run! A lot is made of that “right way." Jesus knew this so He broke it down to 3rd grade level for us - Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. If every day, in the midst of all of the complications of this world, if we would just quiet ourselves and commit to those two aims, a lot of the complexity would drift away. “In this situation, am I loving God and loving my neighbor?” “When I speak my words, am I loving God and loving my neighbor?" 3rd grade stuff. I loved 3rd grade!
#2 Say Yes Every Chance You Get (without violating #1)
So much of our lives is spent trying not to be uncomfortable. Everything about us seems to be concerned with the avoidance of pain, hunger, work and we have a preference for the familiar over the unfamiliar. But we know what that means for athletic performance. The only way to make gains is to get out of our comfort zone. Eventually, this means we become disciples of suffering - embracing the edges of our limits. This is what provides the performance we work towards. The same is true of life. Maybe not a fear of the new, but an unwillingness to embrace the “discomfort” of going outside of our normal experiences. New places, new foods, new situations, new friends, all provide a breadth to life that gives us a new perspective. This freedom to explore comes with the caveat - don't violate #1. Pursuing righteousness and an adventurous life is a truly remarkable and fulfilling journey!
#3 Go Anaerobic Once a Week
To non-runners, this is a foreign concept. But to a runner, this is an everyday thought. Some of the biggest performance gains are made right at the point where our bodies cease to be able to consume and utilize more oxygen. Anaerobic threshold, VO2 Max, lactate threshold, all speak of limits. Limits that we push in hopes of squeezing every last ounce of potential from our genetics. Many people will never know that space - where the possible meets the impossible, where desires and character overtake boundaries and limits. As humans there is much to be discovered in this “no man zone." We learn everything about ourselves in those moments. No one else sees it, and no one else can judge it, it is the most personal of places. Life is in every way just like that. Seldom do people find their limits, but if we allow ourselves to come up to that place, where we are at the end of ourselves, we can have a wonderful conversation with the One who created us! “For when I am weak, He is strong” becomes the mantra and Eric Liddell’s “When I run, I feel His pleasure," become almost a hymn. We as humans are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. But our limitations take us off our throne and allow us to clearly see God. Each of us will experience a time in our lives that will completely strip us of all ability to go on. It may be happening right now for you. There is no doubt that God is there with you and if you will look and listen, you will see and hear Him more clearly than ever before!
Pursue RFLP
2TIM222
--
Richard L. Watson, MD
