Run!

Run!

by Grant Gaines

If you’ve ever seen a marathon, you’ve probably noticed how often the contestants have to refuel themselves. It seems like at every half mile there is another group of volunteers handing out water, Gatorade, and energy gels.

As the grueling race grinds on, the athletes’ bodies burn through their stored up energy supplies and begin to eat away at their own muscle if not properly replenished. Therefore, the competitors are extremely cautious to give their body the appropriate fuel throughout the race.

According to most marathon coaches, a marathon runner should consume up to 8 ounces of liquid (water or a sports drink) every 20 minutes and should intake up to 250 calories every hour. This means that a marathon runner who finishes the race in 4.5 hours (roughly the average finishing time for US contestants in 2012) will have consumed 104 ounces of liquid and 1,125 calories during the race.

When you consider how demanding a marathon is, it’s no wonder these athletes have to be so religious in fueling their bodies. But did you know that Jesus taught us a similar idea that we must apply to our spiritual lives? We find this “refueling” principle in John 15.

In John 15:4-5 (NLT), Jesus commands His disciples, “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

So in the flawless words of our Lord and Savior, if we do not remain in Him, we cannot bear any fruit. And what type of fruit is Jesus talking about anyways? He is referencing the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) which are, “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…”

So if we don’t remain in Jesus, we cannot bear any fruit of the Spirit! We can try, but even on our best day we have a limit as to how much we can love someone. Opposed to God’s love which is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, NIV), our own love is more of a three-strikes-and-you’re-out type of love. Or in other words, we can either bear His fruit or, like an angry dog, we end up bearing our teeth.

So the question you should be asking yourself right about now is, “I want to remain in Jesus because I want to bear His fruit, not my own, but what does Jesus mean when He says to ‘remain’ in Him?” Well, just as a marathon runner “remains” at a healthy energy level by consistently fueling their body, we “remain” in Jesus by consistently fueling our spiritual lives through constant prayer and meditation on His Word. Anything short of this continuous communication with The Source of Our Strength and we are in danger of bearing our own fruit.

Can you imagine a marathon runner attempting to run 26.2 miles without eating or drinking anything because he assumed his pre-race meal would suffice his energy needs? As outrageous as that strategy would be for a marathon runner, how often do we take that approach in our spiritual lives? We reason that because we spent time in the Bible and in prayer earlier in the morning we are spiritually good to go until we have the time to pray right before bed. Does that look like “remaining” in Jesus? Certainly not! Like Popeye without his spinach or a marathon runner who doesn’t refuel himself, so are we if we do not remain in Jesus.

So what does “remaining” in Jesus look like? To remain in Him would be to spend continual time with Him. This is why we are commanded to, “pray without ceasing,” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (ESV) and to meditate on His Word day and night in Psalms 1:2 (NIV). So why not take five minutes at the end of your lunch break to pray? Instead of turning on the radio immediately when you get in the car, why not take several moments to lay your requests before the God who hears our prayers (Psalms 34:15)? And instead of mindlessly waiting in the long checkout line at the grocery store, seize the great opportunity you have to spend some time thanking God for the means He has given you to buy those groceries!

As a fellow runner in the race of life, won’t you join me in running, “…in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24, NIV) by remaining in Him?

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©Grant Gaines 2013