Thinking Biblically is like running a marathon...

Before I ran a marathon, I probably had some idea of what running a marathon was like. I knew it was really long, required a lot of endurance, and it was really hard.

Today I went to a Bible study about thinking Biblically. Interesting topic, something I struggle with personally, and the class is led by a really cool friend of mine, so I was excited to go. We got a short list of comparisons to start the study. Thinking Biblically is like... I never realized there were so many aspects, so many ways you could look at these two words and what they mean. One that stuck out to me was "Thinking Biblically is like running a marathon."

Before my marathon, I was searching for a Christian purpose in running. I know that running keeps me healthy, that it is good for my heart and my lungs. Running gets me outside soaking up Vitamin D from the sun. Running helps me sort through my thoughts, keeps me sane, motivates me to eat healthier and make healthier choices. These are all good things, but is there more that I could use running for from an eternal purpose? More than just listening to sermons occasionally as I run?

Running takes up a lot of my time and focus. Everyday I can spend a lot of time focusing on me, planning a run that will only benefit me, listening to music as I think about me, me, me, me, me.....Is there a way to turn my focus more outward? I was wondering this going into my marathon. I thought about it during my marathon. I compared my training to some of the disciplines of being a disciple, but wasn't really applying those to my real life. Just making mental comparisons.

I learned a lot about myself during my training. I learned more about myself during my marathon. But today I made another connection. Now I have a comparison relating the process of training for and running a marathon to what a Christian walk can be like. The first 12 miles were pretty easy. Much easier than I expected. I enjoyed the company, felt good as people cheered me on, went along for the ride while it was easy.

Then it got considerably harder. As a Christian, in the hard spiritual times I will often just stop praying, stop caring, stop serving, stop it all. It's hard? Ok, then I quit. I don't usually do this consciously. Nonetheless, I certainly don't keep putting one foot in front of another on a spiritual level. In the marathon, I recognized the choice. I kept going even though I don't want to. I kept going even though it was really hard. Thoughts: I do my best because I have trained for this challenge. I have been working toward this for months, and I knew that it would hurt, but I will continue. The reward will be worth it. There is an end to this suffering, the end will come at some point, and I will want to know that I did my best, that I didn't give up.

There is a good parallel now for me, as I think about what it means when someone says, "Thinking Biblically is like running a marathon." I understand that it is more than just something that is a very long process. There is pain, there is weakness, but there is the strength to keep going because of the Holy Spirit, because of grace, because of God's amazing forgiveness and powerful love.

After the list of similes, our study handout included a verse that applied in a similar way. "FIX your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. KEEP PUTTING into practice all that you have learned and received from me"...Philippians 4:8-9a. (emphasis mine)

You have to actually do something deliberate. FIX your thoughts. It isn't a passive act that just happens when you become a Christian. KEEP PUTTING these things into practice. The training isn't automatic. It doesn't just become a lifelong habit; this is something that you have to choose to keep doing.

I have a long spiritual training ahead of me. I've been a Christian for a long, long time, and I feel like I am starting at square one with some of this stuff. But then, I felt the same way with the marathon training. And the process and the results were both something that really blessed my life.