It was a wonderful morning of worship, as I left the church and started for home my mind shifted to the ten miles I was looking forward to running this afternoon. I was delighted to see the cloud cover, it meant that in spite of higher temperatures I would be able to get out and run when I wanted because I could avoid the problems and added heat of running in direct sun. I ate a light lunch and was about to change when... "cccrack... boom" there was thunder and lightning in the air, I would have to wait. How long?
I went to the internet and pulled up the Doppler radar view of the DC area and studied it carefully to see when I might get out and run. The time went by, two o'clock became three and the rain was pouring down, three became four and it wasn't letting up any... four became five and it was starting to look better, the rain was stopping and the radar was showing a clearing over our area. I went for it!
It was a good run, the air temperature had dropped to 75 degrees but the humidity was running a very tropical 88%. Yes, these are the kinds of things obsessive runners pay close attention to. After all they impact performance. I headed out in these conditions expecting to run fairly well but not great and pounded out what I considered to be a fairly respectable 8:12 pace for the ten.
While running I thought about the craziness of this obsession, or passion I have for running and began to think about what other things I'm passionate (obsessed) about. There were two thoughts that ran through my mind, Jesus and Justice for the poor and oppressed. I want the everyone to know that Jesus is the hope of the world. I also want to see the words of Isaiah fulfilled, "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" Isaiah 58:6-7 Indeed this is the very passage that inspired the title of this blog.
Having seen my passion (obsession) for running I have to wonder what level of passion and commitment I have to these other two areas in my life, both of which are more important that running. When all is said and done I believe in the prayer that Jesus taught us, to pray that God's name would be honored, that God's kingdom would come and God's will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. A radical idea.
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