Ultra-Christianity: Part 14 – Conclusion

This blog-post marks the completion of the long journey we started together several months ago.  It is the conclusion of the 14 part series called “Ultra-Christianity”.  The goal of the series was to share with you lessons learned from God while training for an Ultra-Marathon. As I mentioned in the beginning of the series, I heard it said:

“a personal experience or endeavor that does not point to Christ, could be considered worthless.”   

This blog-post marks the completion of the long journey we started together several months ago.  It is the conclusion of the 14 part series called “Ultra-Christianity”.  The goal of the series was to share with you lessons learned from God while training for an Ultra-Marathon. As I mentioned in the beginning of the series, I heard it said:

“a personal experience or endeavor that does not point to Christ, could be considered worthless.”   

My hope and desire is that this blog series was not worthless and the effort and experiences behind the writing of the blog was able to do just that, “point to Christ”!

For Christians, deciding to follow Christ in our daily Christian walk may be difficult; it takes endurance, discipline, focus, sacrifice, and more. These are the things God taught me while training for an ultra-marathon.  It may seem peculiar and an unlikely venue for such lessons, but it is what was used. God was able to take something I am passionate about, namely distance running, and use it in a very special way to teach me more about Him and His spiritual truths.

Through the experience of training and running an ultra-marathon race, I have changed.  I am a different person now, not so much because I ran a 50 mile race, but because of what God taught me along the way.   This will forever be part of me.   Below is a quick summary of the lessons covered in the blog series.  Each lesson always started with a physical aspect of training for a distance running event.  Then the spiritual equivalent followed.  It was a wonderful, surprising journey.  Along the way I did not know what it was that God was going to teach me.  I only proceeded down the path in faith, knowing that He would teach me something because that is what I asked of Him. “Teach me something”, was my prayer.  I was often overwhelmed, sometimes to tears, as I ran alone in the woods and pondered these lessons.

Physical health and spiritual health are somewhat interlinked.  Often, physically laziness begets spiritual laziness.I challenge you to live not only physically healthy lives, but to live the life of what I dubbed an ‘Ultra-Christian’. Start with fundamentals. Just as in training for a race, you need to have mastered the fundamentals before you can be fruitful in what follows.  The most important of all the fundamentals in Ultra-Christianity is simply spending time with God.  This may seem simplistic, but it is vital. It is building a relationship with God. As with any relationship, it takes time to develop and maintain.  God yearns for a quality relationship with His children.  Spend purposeful, scheduled, quality time with the Lord.  Time is one of the most valuable resources we have, and we have the choice to spend it in many different ways.  I guarantee, if you take at least 1 hour each day, everyday, just talking and listening to God, your life will change.  In addition, as you study His Word, ask for wisdom, pray for and serve others, you will find yourself drawing closer to Him and He drawing closer to you.

So, take your walk with Christ to the next level, raise the bar, and keep going.  Do not be complacent with the status quo.  Overcome obstacles, be disciplined, trust God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and keep eating spiritual food.  Endure and win the prize!

“Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one received the prize.”   –1 Cor. 9:24 

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”  2 Tim. 4:7