THE AMAZING RACE!

Since Jack Bauer of the TV show 24 can teach spiritual lessons, I think the winners of the current Amazing Race can too! Those crazy hippies, BJ & Tyler, won themselves a cool million on this seasons race. I watched them week after week, running this race with joy and love and grace. When other teams were fighting, complaining, or degrading the others, the Hippies interacted with the locals, enjoyed the challenges, worked together, remained friends, and just lived day to day with a zest for the race. They maintained an almost innocent and childlike enthusiasm. There was only once when I thought they might give up. They came in last on 2 occassions but were saved because of non-elimination rounds. Once they tried to play mind games with another team, but quickly backed off because that's not the kind of guys they are. Last night I was a tad bit disappointed in them when they told people to lie to the other teams, keeping another team from using the internet to make flight arrangements (which worked against them b/c the other team ended up with a better flight). But that seemed to be their only fall from grace. The mean teams hated them because they were....well, so nice and so good at the race.

So, where is the spiritual lesson? With a million bucks at stake, those crazy Hippies didn't forget who they were. They were crazy, outrageous, smart, caring men who weren't afraid to be different. And they took time to enjoy the situations they were faced with. For us crazy Christians, it can be difficult to avoid the distractions and temptations that constantly move to throw us off our game. Sometimes it is hard to draw a line, to be different, to stand apart from everyone else, to run our race within our cultures and yet continue our transformation into holiness. And, to even be despised because we are crazy Christians. It can be difficult to react in love when the pressure is on.

I want to run my race with joy and enthusiasm. I want to respond as Jesus responds, not as others deserve. I want to be in awe of the places this race takes me. I want to never give up, even if it looks like the race is over for me. I want see people, experience them, love them, learn from them. I want to never be so consumed with my race that I can't give a hand up to someone else. I want to forgive those who trip me up and try to sabotage me. I don't want to run alone, I want to run in a team....a good, strong, smart, joyful, wonderfully crazy, tolerant, loving and giving team. But most of all...I want to win. I want to hit that mat and see my prize....My Jesus!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.-Hebrews 12:1