Running and Losing

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;  and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:37-39 NRSV)

Well at least it’s not what Luke says. Luke says we have to hate our family to follow Christ. In Matthew’s passage above we only have to love all of them less than we love God. That makes sense doesn't it? We are supposed to put God first. We are supposed to lose our life in favor of what God has in store for us. That’s easier said than done.

As some of you know (but only a very few), my reflections written here come from my time during Running Faith on Thursday evening. For those of you who don’t know, I’ll offer a commercial: The invitation stands for you to join me at the entrance to the running trail at 1900 on Thursdays. I share a passage (almost always one of the lectionary passages read at the 0800 service on Sunday) and then you can run (or walk) for 30-40 minutes and consider what God is saying to you in the passage. At the end of the appointed time, we gather for a few minutes of reflection and prayer before going on with our evening.

It’s a quick way to spend some time refreshing your soul while exercising your body. I have found it to be a great way to return from the business (the busy-ness) of the daily grind to the Word of God and the promises that God makes to us. And then I read passages like this. The whole time I ran and considered this passage I couldn't help but think about all the ways I wasn't doing it. All the ways I was putting other things – my life – ahead of God.

Some of my occasional running companions.

I wasn't feeling refreshed and renewed at all (and it wasn't just the heat).The question convicts and challenges me. What am I supposed to lose? What does it mean for me to give up my life for God’s sake? I honestly don’t know.

Thankfully I know I will not be lost as long as I continue to seek God at the foot of the cross. Join me next week (Thursday 1900) to reflect on finding life with God.

PS To those of you who may be reading this on my blog, if you'd like to reflect and run "with" me, drop me an email or send me a FB message and I'll send you our passage each week. Feel free to respond with what reflections you might have while you're running.