One of my favorite films is Chariots of Fire. It is set in the early 1900s and is based on the true story of Olympic Athlete, Eric Liddell, a strong Scottish Christian who was devoted to running for the glory of God. One race scene really shows his grit. He was doing well (maybe a 400-meter race?) until he tripped and wiped out. Slow motion effects make it extra dramatic as he is flailing in a pile of dust. As he watches the whole pack speed ahead of him toward the finish he seems to pause as if waiting for direction from God. He rises to his feet and runs with blazing otherworldly passion straight past everyone—and wins the race! Then collapses struggling to catch his breath from the exertion.
Running is a metaphor used more than once in the Scriptures to describe the intensity in which we are called to seek and serve Christ. The Christian life isn’t a casual stroll. It’s not something we do with half a heart. Or just for fun. Our seriousness in the pursuit of God should be like an Olympic runner! Paul says it like this:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
—1 Corinthians 9:24
I like the NIV better which says, “Run in such a way as to win the prize.” It doesn’t at all mean that we are competing against other people to win some sort of celestial prize on the Day we stand before God. Scripture, in fact, warns us about even comparing ourselves to one another—never mind competing with each other. We are on the same team. But the point Paul is pressing is that we should pursue God with the same kind of fierce determination as runners who are possessed with winning.
Effort matters
Jesus talked about some Christians bearing 30 fold, 60 fold or 100 fold fruit. Paul said some Christians will end their life with nothing to show for it but wood, hay and stubble (1 Cor 3). Others will end and receive unimaginable rewards. The measure of our fruit isn't some kind of predetermined thing—it’s a choice.
I wish I could tell you that 100 fold fruit can be attained by minimal effort, that you can be lazy, overeat, binge Netflix, and waste time, but still have the glory of God rest upon your life. It just doesn’t work that way. In order to run well, we have to refine our lifestyles. We have to clear away not only sins but also things that simply slow us down—even good things. Think of the way athletes live when training or competing. There are probably a lot of things they don’t love doing that they must be disciplined to do (like getting up early). And there are a lot of things they love to do that they cannot afford to do (like laying by the pool and eating a 16 oz bag of Cape Cod potato chips). Consider Hebrews 12:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus ...
—Hebrews 12:1
Take a deep breath in. You are living. This is your time. This is your run! It’s your choice whether to be a 100 fold fruit believer or a wood, hay, stubble believer. There is no reincarnation. There are no redos. We are in it right now! Are you dragging your feet? Are you putzing around? Are you sleeping in the locker room? Have you fallen down and are flailing in the dust? Rise up! Finish well!
The power within
When Eric Liddell was asked where the power to run came from he said, “It comes from within.” He wasn’t boasting when he said this but was referring to the Holy Spirit within who empowers him. The Spirit may not carry us to the Olympic Games, but He will put within us His enabling energy to bear much fruit. Paul put it this way:
I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
—Colossians 1:29
This is one of the many paradoxes in the Christian life. We must strive, labor, toil and exert effort but also cease from striving and let God work through us. It’s both. The Bible uses phrases like “make every effort possible.” It’s clear that we are called to wholehearted effort. But the effort is to depend on God’s power. More on that another day.
Tozer
Lastly, I want to start introducing (or reminding) you of some of the great men and women of God who demonstrated extraordinary passion in the pursuit of God. Some of them were instruments of God in powerful historic revivals that shook entire nations. As I do this you’ll notice I’m drawing from a wide spectrum of denominations and movements. I may not agree with everything these men and women believed, but I perceive that God’s Spirit worked in and through them in special ways. That makes them worth listening to.
The first one I’ll mention is pastor and author A.W. Tozer. His classic book The Pursuit of God is probably what subconsciously inspired me to title our initiative 100 Days of Pursuit. It’s a book I’ve read over and over through the years along with Knowledge of the Holy—that I’m sure I’ve read at least a dozen times! Tozer was a pastor for most of his life in the Chicago area and passed away in the 1960s. His influence on the Church in the twentieth century was powerful and prophetic. His words were deeply convicting. You can find more info about Dr. Tozer, including a complete list of his many books, at awtozer.com. I feel a certain affinity for Tozer because he was a mentor to Leonard Ravenhill, and Ravenhill was a mentor of my first pastor David Wilkerson. I’ll tell you about Ravenhill and Wilkerson another day.