ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
September 10, 2021
Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:7b-8
Train yourself for a holy life! While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come.
Thought for the Day: On this day in 1960, Abebe Bikila, a runner from Ethiopia, won the Gold Medal in the Olympic Marathon, doing so in World Record Time. Now this was before I joined the human race, but I know the name because Bikila ran the race barefoot. He did so four years later, once again setting a new World Record. As a kid, I couldn’t have run a marathon barefoot, but I had soles of steal. In the summer, I rarely had shoes on. Today, if I were to step on a tiny pebble barefoot, I’d probably cry for an hour. It’s amazing how things soften up without use. It might be a stretch, but I think it is true of our spiritual soles (maybe souls). If we are not allowing our spirits to meet the realities of life on a regular basis, they will not be strong for those moments when we really need them. Through prayer and other Spiritual Disciplines, we need to hit the pavement and allow for some calluses to build.
Prayer: Holy God, continue to provide me opportunities for growth and strength building within my whole being. I seek to train myself for whatever it is you need me to do. It is to the glory of Christ that I offer this prayer. Amen.
