Midnight

And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ (Matthew 25)

A few years ago, a couple of my sons challenged me to run a marathon that they were also running. The deal was that if I ran the marathon in a certain amount of time then they would try a much healthier diet for a few months. Since I wanted them to enjoy the benefits of a healthy diet, I decided to give it a try. But, soon I discovered that running distances over nine miles caused my knees to hurt too much. Yet, I knew I had to train if I was even going to finish the marathon. So, the training program was modified to run shorter distances of 3-9 miles every other day, but to also extensively cross-train with bicycling and rowing. The goal became one of being able to exercise vigorously for five hours.

We put fuel for physical endurance into our bodies by regular exercise and a healthy diet. In the same way, we build up endurance mentally and spiritually by what we put into our minds and by the good habits of learning and service that we build into our lives.

With five or six miles left to go in the race, strength was almost gone. Fruit and other food was offered and accepted. But, it was too late for me to find the needed strength and speed from food at that point.

Recently, I saw a statistic that said that less then ten percent of Americans read God’s Word daily. This statistic reveals why our culture has sunk to new lows in morality. It also shows why most Christians live lives that are almost indistinguishable from non-Christians. Psalms 1 makes a wonderful promise to the man who delights in and mediates on God’s Word day and night (at least daily). Like a tree that grows by a river, his leaf will not wither even in a great drought.

I had enough strength left to finish the marathon, but not enough to run fast enough to meet my goal time. But, I was grateful to just be able to trot across the finish line. In the same way, we face tremendous challenges in life before we get to the finish line. Some lose their way, faith or family. Yet, ninety percent of Christians are depriving themselves of vital nutrients from God’s Word. We desperately need Truth to fill our mind but the average adult spends 14 hours soaking in lies from the mass media. Jesus said to keep a good supply of oil. But, many of us only have enough for a life that has minimal challenges. The crisis will come. Will we have strength to keep running at midnight, when the darkness seems endless?

Project:
-- Let’s not depend on others for motivation, but let’s each determine, by God’s grace, to daily delight in His Word.
-- Let’s encourage those around us to do the same.