Many of you know that my son, Ethan Grant Finney, just graduated from 12 weeks of the most grueling and challenging experiences anyone can go through – Marine Corps Boot camp. It’s been exhilarating to be around the excitement for the past few days as mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandmothers, cousins, etc have gathered from all across the country to the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego, CA to see their brand new Marine. These people know how to be excited!
I can’t say I blame anyone. They haven’t seen these boys…er…men in months and they miss them. One morning they were picking up their laundry and making them dinner and the next he’s just gone. They didn’t know what what was happening on that base and if their letters were actually getting to them (which we later found was a bit sketchy.)
However, these men were busy accomplishing something that they will never forget. They are now part of brotherhood that they will be a part of for the rest of their lives. They truly are “the few” and they have every right to be “proud.” But they couldn’t be concerned with their home lives.
They didn’t have time to worry about what was happening at home – they were training for combat.
They didn’t have time to check the latest current events – they were learning how best to take out an enemy.
They didn’t need the distractions of the world – they had a mission to complete.
I can’t help but see a paralel for my Christian walk. Can you see it?
How often do I let the cares of this world get in the way of my training? My mission?
Now I’m obviously not proposing that we all leave our families behind for months at a time in order to go out into the mission field and win the lost. I’m simply talking about the distractions. What are the things that get in the way of how God is training me to be the best warrior for His Kingdom?
Some of these things were what I was warring against during my 21 Day Challenge. But both of us know that when you limit one distraction, another rears its ugly head. And now that the challenge is over, I can feel those familiar desires for the things I gave up all coming back again.
It really is a battle.
1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
We have a real enemy that wants to take us out. And if he can’t do that, he wants to make us ineffective. Many have allowed him to do just that.
So now for the hard questions that I feel need to be asked.
– What effect are you having on the Kingdom?
– When was the last time you saw the Kingdom advancing as a result of the Lord’s work in and through you?
– Are there distractions in your life that have created in you an endorsement for marginal Christianity?
I am the first to wince when I read these questions. But perhaps by asking them, we’re taking the first step towards walking like Paul, our firm yet kindly spiritual “drill instructor”, calls us to in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Rossome Thoughts 