Leave Nothing on the Table

Fall is the season of cross country meets. Most of my kids have participated in cross country at some point in their high school years.  I regret not having attended more of my older kids' meets. At the time, I used the excuse of having younger kids and not wanting to haul a stroller or try to keep them entertained and fed. But in all honesty, the years of carrying so many extra pounds made it very challenging to attend. Cross country spectators are active participants. There is no seating (unless you haul your own chair and even then, you would be hauling it to several places for only a fleeting glimpse of your runner). Fall temperatures can range from blazing hot with clouds of gnats (like last night's meet) to frigid cold when you are dashing around trying to stay warm.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the race is to stand at the final chute and watch the runners give every last ounce of energy to beat competitors or to beat their own personal record. No runner wants to be guilty of having held back. It's their last opportunity to leave nothing on the table. For some, they come in and collapse at the finish line, others may lose their lunch, and still others limp away helped by a coach, teammate or a parent. Someone is always ready to greet them with encouragement and admiration for the effort they exerted.

In those final moments, that runner is fixed on the finish line. They may have stumbled on the path, may have been passed by, have pain in their legs or side, be desperately thirsty or incredibly weary, but in that final chute, everything within them is straining toward the finish.  Paul so aptly describes the athlete's effort as a picture of the believer straining toward the completion of their life and the prize of eternal life that awaits them:

"Not that I have obtained this [the resurrection of the dead] or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on for the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12b-4

I love that image of one straining for the finish. The idea that every last ounce of energy and effort is being poured out and used up. And isn't that exactly how we are to arrive in the presence of our Savior? Straining to make sure that nothing is left on the table. No enemy left unloved, no adversary left unprayed for, no lost soul in our circle left unreached, no known sin left unrepented of, no act of service left undone but all poured out before the Savior who poured out every last ounce of His lifeblood to pay for us to have a prize worth striving toward. Oh how, can any believer not strain toward One who loves us so completely? How can any of us bear to not use up every ounce of our breath and life in striving toward our Savior?  

How those final moments unfold in a cross country race, depends on the weeks and months of training that precedes the final stretch. And that is just as true in our Christian walk according to 1 Corinthians 9:25-27:

"Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, be we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

While an athlete strives for medals or ribbons that will not last, the believer is striving toward the only thing that will. And it's interesting that in that striving, Paul was concerned that after preaching to others, he might himself be disqualified. You may say, "I am not a preacher, so that does not apply to me."  But whether we realize it or not, our life is a living sermon. As a mother, I am saddened that my children were well aware of the disconnect between my words about following the Lord, and my actions that often exemplified the opposite.  Lecturing them about self-control when I had lost my own; instructing them that they needed to surrender their heart to the Lord when it was obvious that I had surrendered only parts of my own. Charging them to love their enemies while holding grudges and speaking unkindly against those I felt had wronged me or disagreed with me. 

My unwillingness to face the ugly truth about my gluttony for so many years was the single greatest hindrance to me living the abundant life that Jesus wanted for me.  It hindered me as a parent, a wife, a friend, and a servant of Christ.  You cannot say with your mouth that Jesus is Lord if he is not Lord of your appetite. HE cannot be truly Lord of your life if He is not Lord of your body. And that's why I am so passionate about helping others surrender the area of their health to the Lord. 

And now, I am working on surrendering my home to the Lord. Just as I have decluttered my body of excess weight, my focus now is on decluttering my home of the excess belongings that have kept me from practicing hospitality.  I don't want to leave a house full of useless possessions for my children to have to clear away. I want to freely offer up every last ounce of myself and every inch of my home to be used up completely in service to the Lord.  I want nothing in my life or in my home that will cause me to stumble or falter in the final chute of life. 

I want to strain to lay every failure, every sin, every act of hypocrisy at the feet of Jesus and I want to encourage others to also surrender every area of life so we can reach the finish line having given it all, leaving nothing on the table except the fragrance of Christ whom we served.  And like those cross country runners who have someone waiting to help them when their energy is completely drained, Jesus will be waiting when we step across our finish line into eternity to greet us with joy and carry us into glory.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (ESV)