Running for Home

My runner-girl daughter is training hard up in these hills. Yesterday she ran up and over the monstrous hills surrounding our house with determination in her heart. The temperature was below freezing, but somehow she managed to run her fastest time ever for the distance she covered. She's preparing to run a race in the Spring; but the race is not her ultimate goal. Her goal is to be home. The race takes place back home in Florida and she desperately wants to be "home" running with her sweet friends. And so no matter what the day holds, she trains, gets out there and she gives it all she's got. No. Matter. What. Her discipline got me to thinking; what if I lived like she trains. Paul says in Philippians 3:14,
"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
What if we pressed on, persevered, endured no matter what the day holds?
What if we pushed for the goal, the upward call, which is defined as the "invitation" of God and we did so in Christ? What if our goal truly became running Home? And what if we ran with the purpose of being surrounded by sweet friends who we've invited to join in the run with us by sharing the Gospel with them? If Heaven becomes our daily goal we will run our lives in a completely different way. My daughter makes sacrifices each day as she chooses to do the hard work of training over the comfort or enjoyment of taking it easy. She has a plan to go farther and get stronger on her run. She also measures everything else in her day by how it will affect her training. What if we willingly made sacrifices daily to do the hard work of discipleship? What if we made a plan to live stronger Christian lives with boldness? What if we thought about how everything in our day affects our Christian growth? Oh! Picture what our race would look like as we accept God's invitation to press hard toward Heaven. It would look like a Hebrews 12:1-3 kind of run..."Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
We would be casting off sin, keeping a steady pace and craving the sight of Jesus. We'd be focused and running hard for home. If this is how we plan to live and really begin to live the plan, we will be surrounded by sweet friends, all running home with us where the prize is the Ultimate...The greatest Prize is Jesus. What do you need to change, to start (or stop) doing today to press toward the goal? What will you do to start running hard for Home? I don't know about you, but I'm ready to lace up my running shoes and get out there, hills and all! I'll be looking for you on the road...