Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Start (01/16/06)
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TITLE: Go Back to Start! | Previous Challenge Entry
By Bonny Miller
01/20/06 -
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“Ahh, come on,” I pleaded. “This is the fifth time.”
She sang her victory chant while dancing around the table. “Ooo Hoo- Ooo Hoo! Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha!”
“Not so fast!” I exclaimed. I picked up the game instructions. “There must be a rule somewhere-”
“-yeah, the only rule is 'we kids rule!' ” She continued to dance.
“I wish you had this much excitement about chores. Speaking of chores...” I added. That stopped her dead in her tracks. I knew it would. It was my 'gotcha' right back to her.
“Let's finish the game,” I suggested. “It's getting late.”
Needless to say, I won. Yeah, right.
As I was putting away the game, I could still hear her voice echoing the words “go back to start.” I couldn't help but smile. And her victory dance? It's forever embedded in memory. Help me.
How many times throughout our Christian journey, when we're running full steam ahead, that the unexpected, the 'all-of-a-suddens' happen? Snag! Gotcha! Go back to start! while others are so very far ahead. Life is full of surprises, obstacles, twists and turns, and plenty of gotchas. For me, it feels as if I'm running against the wind. Perhaps I am, but that's just part of the reality of being a Christian.
Consider 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 , “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (NIV)
Living a Christian life is not always easy, but when the race, our Earthly life, is over, and when we cross the finish line, a whole new reality unfolds before our spirit, a reality of an ever-lasting life with God- in God's Kingdom! This is an eternal blessing given to His children only because of God's grace, mercy, and love for us.
We are born into sin, the flesh, the world. Yet, once we accept Jesus into our heart and acknowledge this truth, once we know that He died on the cross for that very purpose, once we proclaim this, then we experience a spiritual rebirth. We are transformed anew as a child of God. We are forgiven. We are cleansed from sin.
Are we then capable of living a sin free life? No. Have we immediately become a super-being, able to withstand anything? No, but we are taken to a new level of protection. This spiritual rebirth, having been transformed into a child of God, is a threat, a challenge, to the enemy, mind you- Satan. In the face of fear, he will do anything, everything to cause you to stumble or to keep you from running the race.
When you move ahead with a serious pace serving God, expect moments of trials, wrong turns, obstacles that will push you back a few steps, or even back to start, which simply, is a time to be humbled. Stay on your knees, not in defeat, but in thanksgiving. God has already forgiven you. Rise in faith and hope. Trust in Him and persevere through the power of God's love and keep moving. Become a victor for Christ through Christ.
God will direct your every step as you obediently run the race. No matter how many times you have to go back to start, rise again. And should you keep moving toward and beyond the finish line, you will receive a crown of righteousness.
Matthew 25:21 “...Well done, my good and faithful servant...” (NIV)
2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (NIV)
p.s. Can anyone say solitaire?
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