Why do I believe what I believe? Sometimes I think I ask myself that question too many times. In my life I have experienced quite a few ups and downs of both doubt and belief. Sometimes I feel like a doubting Thomas, wondering whether I can really trust Jesus at His Word, and other times I feel like a Paul, ready to give my life over to the calling of missions, no matter the cost to myself. But at this point in my life, I begin to realize that no matter how far I may stray from God, like a lost sheep, I know that He will always continue to search me out and lead me back to his pasture. So in all honesty, it’s really hard to say “why” I believe what I do. To tell you that, I would really have to tell you my whole life story, and how God has been faithful to me at all times in life. Let me instead tell you about my experience with running and how it is like a parallel to my spiritual walk.
Let me start off by saying that running has been a huge part of life, and it makes a really close spiritual parallel to my faith as well. There are many reasons why I love running, way too many to explain them all. Some of the most important reasons are that it helps me to be a better person and it makes me unique as an individual. It has also helped me bond and become part of a family and a team and it continues to teach me about self-discipline, hard work, and accomplishing something significant in life.
I always call myself a “runner,” but unfortunately that doesn’t mean I always act like one. There was one point during my senior year in high school when I had really started to drop the ball. It had gotten to the point where I quit the track team and was only running occasionally on my own. Basically I had hit an all time low because I had started to not care enough to work at it anymore. And then I remember thinking about all the dreams and running goals that I’ve had over the years, all the accomplishments, all the memories, all my teammates and friends, and I realized how much I was giving up. It was almost like coming alive again, re-awakening to my first dream. It was sort of like a second conversion or a rededication of my life. It was because of this experience that I eventually joined the team again and then later on broke the school record in both the mile and two-mile races.
Like I said, running for me has been a direct parallel to my spiritual life. In the same way that I’ve always called myself a “runner,” I know and believe that I am a Christian too. And although I do know and believe in Christ I haven’t always acted like it. I had at my first year at college a “rededication” or rebirth to my first love, Jesus Christ. I had clearly started to wander away from God and considered making plans that would have hindered my growth and maturation as a Christian. Thankfully God has intervened in my life and now I am ready to do big things for God, to serve Him with all my life.
