Follow the Leader

            Did you ever run track in school?  I did in college but only because I had to.  As a means of conditioning for basketball, our team was required to run cross country and had to compete in one cross country race before the basketball season began.

            I remember the race well. The only thing positive about it were the donuts we got to eat before we competed.

            On your mark, get set, go!

            Early on, I can remember several girls flying past me and I thought, “I will never keep up with that pace.”  

            So I didn’t.

            I just did the best I could, maintained the speed that was comfortable to me, slow, and crossed the finish line second to last, elated that I finished. What I did not know is that the girls who raced ahead of me at the start, never finished at all, because their job as “jackrabbits” was to set an unattainable pace to wear out the runners from other teams. They ran as fast and as hard as they could, then quit.

            I realized, “I am so glad I did not try to keep up with them.” I would have gotten burned out and quit too.

            In the same way, we as Christians have a race to run, but the Lord has mapped out special race instructions for each of us. Our race may not look anything like our friend’s race or like the race of the person we admire so much.

            When we start trying to keep up with someone else and fail, we get frustrated, and a bitter root of envy or jealousy might surface.

            We have to remember that their race is not the race we are running.  

            In her book, The Sacred Echo, Margaret Feinberg says, “Don’t be distracted by what others are doing.  Don’t worry about the speed, productivity, or efficiency of others.  Don’t be concerned with people who look like they’re running in circles.  Stay the course.  They have their lane and you have yours.”

            When calling the disciples, Jesus said, “Come follow me.”  He issues the same invitation to us. He didn’t say “Come follow Suzie or Jane or Mary.” He said “Come follow me.” When we follow one person, we shouldn’t be worried about what anyone else is doing.

            We should keep our eyes on Jesus and follow the leader.

            Jesus knows what we are capable of. He knows our gifts and talents. He knows our passion.  He knows our heart. When we run ahead of him, we may miss something along the way and even worse, might get burned out and want to quit.

            Have you crossed over into someone else’s lane and are trying to run a race that God never intended you to run?  Are you sad because someone has lapped you twice? Trust the Lord with your life.  Be content with what he has called you to do and let him lead.

            Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)