| Outdoor Truths: Aiming Outdoorsmen Toward Christ July 21st |
Gary Miller ~ outdoortruths.org
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Most mornings I am challenged before I really even begin my day. When I’m not hunting or fishing, I meet a few friends for an early morning run. The challenge is not actually in the run, even though they can be difficult as well. But the real confrontation comes as I see various people on the trail. There are folks of all ages who have some sort of desire or reason for getting out very early to walk or run. Many of the older ones do it because a doctor has prescribed them to walk a few times each week. So they do. But I don’t think they really understood what the doctor really meant.
You see, the object of walking or running is to strengthen the muscles, and the primary muscle the doctor wants them to build up through walking, is the heart. In order for the heart to be strengthened, one must cause it to beat faster. And when the heart beats faster, you sweat. Yes sweat.
I don’t how many people I pass who look like they just got out of the shower. They are neat and clean. Their hair is painstakingly fixed and their shirt-tail is perfectly tucked into their pants. And I don’t know how many times I am knocked over with the smell of cheap cologne or perfume. But there is always one thing that is absent on these particular people. You guessed it. Sweat! I just don’t get it! Or do I?
Every time I am made aware of this I am taken back to my own Christian life. I am well aware that God has called His people to live by faith. That is, He has called us to grow in the area concerning how much we trust God. But in order to do that, it takes me allowing God to put me in those circumstances that cause my spiritual heartbeat to speed up. If my Christian life is strengthened, there will be some moments that are spiritually taxing – moments that will bring about some spiritual sweat. The challenging question I am confronted with is this. Am I a man who is living my Christian life through a comfortable stroll? Am I deceiving myself into thinking the Great Physician has prescribed a life that I can live without every breaking a spiritual sweat?
God please don’t ever let me believe that I can serve you without losing my breath. Please, always give me something that will cause my heart to race. Without this, I will only be going through the motions and will never learn to trust You more.
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