RUN!

 

Do you like to run? When I was younger, I used to love running. As an adult I ran for exercise. I could easily run for 5 miles. Then, one day I decided I would run a marathon.

Do you know how far you have to run to finish a marathon? It would be like running from Mount Olive Church to the Pittsburgh Airport! Do you think you could run that far?

Well, before any of you were born, I ran a marathon in Oklahoma. I enjoyed it so much that I ran two in one day: my first and my last marathons.

When you run a marathon or any race, you stay on a course. Sometimes you run through neighborhoods and parks. Sometimes you run in a straight line or an oval track. You do not run aimlessly.

Paul tells us in our second reading (1 Cor 9:16-27) that he did not run aimlessly. Paul was not a runner or a boxer, but he liked to use athletics to explain God’s grace and our salvation through Christ.

Because Paul wanted to win people to Jesus, he worked really hard because he knew how much Jesus loved him and all people. Because Paul loved Jesus so much, he would do anything for Him in order to win people to God.

You may enjoy running or boxing, science or music, video games or outdoor games, and as a Christian, you can win people for Jesus. Do you know how?

You love them. You love God with all your heart, mind and soul, and you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. So, no matter what activity you do, you can always love God and neighbor while you are running or playing.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.