Running with a smile - Devotion for 10/15/08

Running with a smile – Devotion for 10/15/08

Do you ever notice those crazy folks running on the side of the road? I noticed one guy this morning as I took my boys to school that was running, and seriously you would have thought he was wearing a Halloween mask already. I’m not saying he was that ugly, it’s just the look on his face was one of horror. You could see he was struggling with his run, and his eyes looked crazy desperate to stop, yet he pressed on. I can relate to that, because not too long ago I started running again. One of the places that I run is on a sidewalk beside a very busy road here in town, and as I run up the road I watch all the cars go by. About a week or so ago I started to try to run with a little bit of a smile on my face. Why would I do that, especially when I obviously feel like crap from running? I’m not too sure, other than one day as I was running I got to wondering if I was somehow portraying the love of Christ even through my running. I knew that hanging my head low and having that desperation look upon my face certainly wouldn’t convey anything about Christ, so I decided to try to smile. Now I’m not saying that I smile all the time when I run, but I do make an effort to smile with the hopes that somehow in the midst of my suffering I can portray just some of the joy found in the Christ.

My attempts to share the joy of Christ in the midst of suffering reminds me of the apostles. In no way could I compare my sufferings with theirs, but I think their sufferings still teach us how we are to live. Paul speaks to this in 2 Corinthians 6:4-6: “but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love . . .” Paul goes on and on as this passage continues, but I believe his words of encouragement to the early apostles can also encourage us today. In the midst of whatever we are suffering or enduring, we can do it with a Spirit that portrays the love, grace, and peace and Christ. So maybe you should try running with a smile (even if it means having to pick bugs out of your teeth afterwards) – you never know who might be watching you.