"Turn your eyes upon Jesus...

...look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." These are the lyrics to one of the hymns I grew up with, and this is the frequent topic of sermons every Sunday across the country.

I've asserted before that the past three plus years of running, for me, has mirrored my life in Christ and this morning I recognized another similarity. Focus.

Take a look back through my posts and you'll find that over the past year, since starting this blog, I've thrown out numerous goals that I hoped to achieve. I've been focused on distance, on times, on fitness level, on weight, on body fat, etc., etc. The reality is that other than general fitness levels and, dare I say, concern with my appearance, I've never remained focused on any one goal for very long.

Our Christian lives can be very similar. We may find ourselves deeply involved and interested in in depth Bible study one minute, faith based community service the next, then church leadership, or perhaps teaching at another point in time. Then life kicks into high gear. School, kids, activities, work, and sometimes even Church responsibilities can capture our attention and cause us to lose focus. I've come to realize that it's OK. I'm going to stumble, I'm going to get lazy, perhaps even lose interest in one thing or another. What I must never do is lose focus on the big picture. In exercising, my short term goals will change, but each one should, and will, contribute to the overall goal of staying in shape and living a healthy lifestyle. In my Christian life, I have, and will, do many different things in an effort to serve the Lord. Some will capture my undivided attention, some I will trudge through, like a long set of ab crunches, but each will contribute to my spiritual fitness.

With the approach of the Olympics, I'm reminded of the US Olympian some years ago who pulled a muscle in the final stretch of a race. He struggled to his feet and continued for the finish line, seeing his son struggle, his dad rushed the track and supported his son. Together they crossed the finish line. As Christians we should train to win, yet we will likely never run the perfect race. When we struggle, we must continue to press forward toward the finish line, and when we see another stumble, we must be willing to lend a hand. If we "train" and then "run" with this same dedication and focus then, "...the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace."