Find your running shoes and keep running

I would not call myself a “camper.”  I am more of the “sleep-in-my-own-bed” and “take-a-shower-everyday” type person.  However, I am currently training to be a Resident Assistant at my University, which included a camping trip for the past couple of days.  Part of this camping experience included participating in competitive games (which is also not generally part of my “type”).  One such game was entitled “pot-o-points”.  In this game, our teams had to find one of the Resident Directors who had the “pot o points,” take a coin fro the pot, and bring it back to their team’s box.  This sounds simple until you add in the fact that it was in the dark, in a wooded campsite no one was familiar with, and had other Resident Directors scattered around the grounds waiting to “capture” you. 

Before we headed out on our “pot-o-points” mission, we were all asked to grab an item out of a pile.  There were bags of food, crazy hats, reflective gear, tarps, oversized glassed, twine, scuba gear, and other random items.  After we had each grabbed an item, we were then told what benefit that item would bring. 

The tarps acted as invisible capes when a person or object was completely covered by it, the glasses allowed the player to see into the “pot-o-points” to pick out the best coins, flashlights could only be used by those wearing the hats.  I happened to pick up the reflective gear, which granted me immunity to the “capturers” so long as I was running. 

Our special items allowed each member of the team to bring a special advantage to the whole.  When used properly, the items were beneficial.  When used incorrectly or not at all, they were worthless.  I made the choice that I would run the entire duration of the game so I could get the greatest possible advantage out of my special item. 

When God gives us spiritual gifts, he intends for us to use them.  When we fail to recognize what our gifts are and how they can be used to support the body of Christ, we hurt the body of Christ. 

Imagine if I didn’t run.  I would be captured, have my coins taken away, and be a useless member of my team.  Or what if the person with the glasses chose not to use their “gift” of being able to look into the pot and just chose a coin without caring?  By not using their special skills, they would hurt the entire team. 

If I was sent out to run around a track or on a treadmill for two hours, I probably couldn’t do it.  I would get tired, think about how I’d rather not be running for that long, and stop.  But in the midst of the game, I knew I had to keep running.  There was one point in the game where my red converse shoes just weren’t cutting it for the duration of this run.  But that didn’t stop me- I ran to my tent, laced up my running shoes, and got right back in the game. 

What if we went through life with that same mentality?  That using our gifts wasn’t an option, but a necessary part of life?  How much better would the body of Christ function if we all used our gifts to better the body as a whole?  Sometimes using you gifts will get tiring, push you out of your comfort zone, or be more work that you expected.  These are the times when you have to go find your running shoes and keep running. 

We are given our gifts for a reason.  God has given us all different gifts and strengths so we can help others in their weaknesses. 

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us” (Romans 12:4-6). 

Unlike the pile of random “gifts” we chose from in this game, God has specifically given you a gift suited to fit you.  By using our gifts we help build up the body of Christ and we glorify God in fulfilling the role he has given us. 

After all was said and done, I was sweaty, tired, and had blisters on my feet from running in my red converse all-stars.  But I had no regrets.   Yes, I got lost several times and didn’t find the “pot-o-points” until nearly the end of the game, but I did all I could to help my team.  I used my gift to the best of my ability and never stopped running.  God doesn’t expect that all of us will do extravagant things with our gifts.  I probably won’t solve world hunger, or provide beds for every child in Africa.  But so long as I keep running and use my gift to the best of my ability I will glorify God and leave this world with no regrets.