Chasing and Being Chased

"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm."
-Proverbs 13:20

I've often talked about how important it is to have training partners- those who will labor with you toward a mutual end goal; those who will push you; those who you can push. Most of the time a training partner is someone who is about your same skill level. Sure, you may be a bit better at them in some areas, and they might be better than you in others, but by and large y'all are on the same playing field. These folks are your peers, and they push you and hold you accountable to be better.

Just as important though is having people in your training that you can chase, and that can chase you. Not people who are just a little bit better/worse than you, but significantly better/worse. I got to train for a time with a National Champion, and just being around him made me see things that I never would have seen with people on my own level. The way he moved; his work ethic; his attention to detail- all things that became invaluable to my training. I also have been fortunate enough to train with people who were significantly behind me. I was able to show them things that they would have never seen if they only trained with people on their level. This was good for them, but good for me too: it reminded me of fundamentals, showed me how far I have come, and kept me hungry to stay ahead (for often times these newbies make great strides, and in time start to push me!)

In our pursuit of Christ, we need this same dynamic- the "weaker brother" (1 Cor 8, Romans 14), our peers, and those we are striving to be like as they are like Jesus (1 Cor 11:1).  As proverbs 13 indicates, we become like those we spend the most time with, so it is important that we spend time with folks who are further along who make us want to be more like Jesus, and that we spend time around those who aren't as far along since we make them want to be more like Jesus.

We need those who are not as far along in our faith for many reasons. They remind us that in the end, only Jesus makes us clean- not our own good works or striving. They put on display a childlike faith, willing and ready to take Jesus at his word simply because of who He is. They show us the joy that is to be had when we mature and grow into the likeness of Christ. They hold us accountable to knowing scripture, for inevitably they will ask questions that we must answer.

Likewise, we need those who are further ahead of us. We need others that model Christ well to show us the way. They remind us that with the help of the Spirit, we too can one day be transformed into the image of Christ (2 Cor 3:18). They show us what it looks like to love our wives like Christ love the Church. They teach us how to exhibit patience in frustrating situations. They exhort us to pray, and to hold all things before the Lord.

The body of Christ is just that- a body. It is many different parts that all make up a whole, the sum of which is greater than just the parts themselves. It is the old teaching the young, the strong bearing with the week, all under the banner of Christ. As a great theologian once said, "nobody leans against the Cross and says 'all you sinners come bow down', but rather we kneel before the cross and invite others to kneel with us."

Going Through the Motions

The grind can be real sometimes. Wake up, slam breakfast, gym, shower, speed to work, answer a million emails, slam lunch, answer a million more emails, try to beat traffic home, cook dinner, cook tomorrows lunch, go to bed tired as a dog, wake up and do it all again. It's easy to feel like a hamster on a wheel, running as fast as you can but not really going anywhere at all. The repetitive monotony of it all can wear you down- before you know it, you are a robot simply going through the motions, but your heart really isn't in it. I have found that oftentimes, this detachment of my heart bleeds into areas of my life that I care about most.

One of these areas for me is the gym. I have no problem showing up to the gym, but if I'm honest sometimes I don't give it my all when I am there. They say showing up is half the battle, and the implied assumption is that once you show up the other half of the battle takes care of itself. Unfortunately, this is just not true. I can't tell you how many times I have got to the gym, got halfway through something and then just kind of went "eh..  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  " and not tried as hard through the rest. My body is there, but my heart and my mind are far from it. When this happens, not only am I not getting any better, but there is no joy in it.

How true it is that my life in the gym often reflects my life outside of the gym. I see this in my marriage: I come home, and we say "how was your day?" to which the other person replies "good!" sometimes followed by a brief description (which the other person has already tuned out). Our mouths are asking the questions, but our hearts aren't listening. I see this with my friends: we all show up somewhere to hang out or watch the game, and next thing you know everyone is looking at their phones, texting or on Facebook/Instagram. We are warm bodies in a room, but nobody is engaged. Even worse, if I'm not careful I will start to see it in my spiritual life.

If we are honest, we all find ourselves going through the motions at times. Go to church. Serve. Read your bible. Pray. Repeat. But is our heart really in it? Sometimes, for sure. When we walk in step with the Spirit, he makes us acutely aware of the glory and splendor of our King, and there is a natural outpouring of the Spirit; that is to say the Spirit bears fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23). If we aren't constantly pressing into Jesus though, it becomes possible (or even probable) that we will begin cranking this stuff out of the flesh, doing things on our own strength. It can be hard to identify your inner motivations, but the Lord always weighs the heart (Proverbs 21:2). A quick litmus test would be your response to situations.

When someone aggravates you, your inward response is usually one of three things:
1) You aggravate me, and I'm going to let you know it
2) You aggravate me, but I'm a Christian and I'm not supposed to show it so I'll show you grace
3) You aggravate me, but how many times have I done far more grievous things to Jesus? And if he can still look past that and give himself for me, then I can look past your faults and give myself for you by showing you grace.

The first scenario is clearly someone acting out of the flesh. The second is more deceptive- on the outside, it appears that you are walking with the Spirit (and indeed you may be, for sometimes we must simply obey when we do not want to, which takes strength only Jesus can provide) and they show grace. Too often, my spiritual capacity stops here though. I do things "because I'm supposed to" and simply stop at that. In my heart of hearts, I want more though- I want to be the third guy. I want to not have to think about it, but for the natural rhythm of my heart to be to extend grace. I want to see people not as "the guy who is annoying" or "the girl who never gets things right", and instead see them as Jesus does- as his creation, made in the image of God, a person with a soul, who is faulty and sinful, but who desperately needs grace and kindness extended to them. But how can we do this?

 I've said it before and I'll say it again: the way to fix your problems is not by trying to fix your problems. The way to get more patience is not to just try harder to be patient; it is to turn your eyes on Jesus and be captivated by the patience that he extends us. The way to deal with your anger issue is not by trying to be less angry; you deal with anger by turning your eyes on Jesus and seeing that if anyone had the right to be angry, it was him (crucified for others sins), but that he "laid down his life" (John 10:18) of his own accord. The way to deal with your lust issue is not by just installing software on your computer and trying to lust less; instead, we turn our eyes on Jesus and realize that only he satisfies, only he fills the void in our heart, only he validates us, only he sustains us and brings us ultimate life.

Jesus never asks us to do things that will ultimately harm us, rather he invites us into life and rest (Matthew 11:30). In this rat race of a life, I want to take a step off the wheel. I don't want to be the guy who just shows up to the gym and goes through the motions- I want to work hard and with intensity. I don't want to just ask my beautiful wife questions because I'm supposed to- I want to pursue her heart with passion. I want to turn my eyes on Jesus. I want to beg that by his Spirit, he would open my eyes and heart to see how captivating he truly is, and that in doing so my life would be radically altered for his glory, and my good.

Press on, brothers.