19 July 2013 by Ps Ron Hee-
Note: Senior Pastor Ron Hee from New Life Restoration Center, Petaling Jaya shares lessons he learned in the recent Love P.J. 5KM Run.
I was grateful that a couple of our youth leaders signed me up for the Love PJ Run held recently. The run was a fitting finale to the fourth Inter-Church Sports Carnival that was held among 10 churches in Klang Valley.
The run was challenging for me because I had never run a 1KM run before, let alone 5 KM. Nevertheless, it was fun because I got to connect with my church family through such a healthy activity! Many of our church members have signed up and I was glad to catch up with some of them.
Most of all, this experience was personally enriching for me.
Like all first timers, I started the run enthusiastically but I discovered quickly at the beginning of the run about the truth of Jesus’ statement to his disciples who fell asleep while He was praying. Indeed, ‘the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak’ (Matt 26:41).
Also, while I had the enthusiasm and determination to complete the 5KM, I discovered that my legs could not keep up the pace for too long, so much so that I had to stop and walk, to catch my breath before continuing to run. Before long, a tendon at the back of my left leg began to tighten up. Even though my mind told me that I had enough stamina, I could not continue running because of the sharp pain. Gradually, the pain forced me to stop running altogether and walk for most of the race.
I experienced the profound truth that we are only as strong as the weakest part of our body. No wonder Apostle Paul encouraged us to give honor to parts of the church family that are weak. If we do not help the parts of our body that are weak, those weaknesses will also affect us because the whole body suffers because of those weaknesses.
No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty,….. but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 1 Corinthians 12:22-26
I was quite disappointed with myself for being so unfit. Nonetheless, I decided to push through the pain and kept running to complete the 5KM. Just before the halfway mark, I caught up with my Youth Pastor. That gave me a much needed boost to my spirit to realize that there are others who are at the same stage of race with me and I am not too far behind. This is often the case in our Christian life.
We are encouraged when we realized that others are going through similar struggles; we are not alone in our walk with God. Even prophet Elijah was a victim to this mindset of being alone in serving God, made him quit. Therefore, sharing about the challenges we are facing in life is important because there might be folks who are going through similar circumstances and they will be encouraged to know that these challenges are not unique to themselves.
The best however was when I approached the bend before the final stretch. I heard shouts of "Come on, Pastor Ron! Pastor Ron, you can do it!" Our church folks who had finished earlier saw me coming and they began cheering for me. And how powerful were those cheers! They gave me a great boost; I doubled my efforts and increased my pace. Even better, my Youth Pastor ran alongside me and we were able to cross the finishing line together.
Folks, our cheers of encouragement for others have great power and we must cheer each other on in this Great Race of life. My prayer is that our churches will be made out of cheerleaders. Every one of us is going through life with a limp and some pain but those cheers will help us push through those pains and help us finish the race in triumph. The saints that have gone ahead of us are doing exactly that for each one of us.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses… and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us… Hebrews 12:1
I enjoyed my running experience so much that I told my son that I might start running as a hobby…err…only once those body aches go away.
Dear Viewers in Christ, if you find this article edifying to you, please share with your friends or loved ones by using the social media plugs (Share, Email to this article). The Lord will surely bless you as you bless others. May the Lord’s peace and love be with you.
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