I love living with a 3-year-old… and not just any 3-year-old, but a 3-year-old little boy. See, I’ve done the 3-year-old thing before with my daughter, but my son has brought a whole new dimension to the preschool years! The messes, the accidents, the humor, and the sheer, raw energy have all gone to new levels!
For example, as we were getting our morning started today, I gave him a wrapper to throw away, and he sped off like a bolt of lightning (well, as close to lightning as his little legs could move him) across the room to the trash can.
I laughed inside and thought, “He runs like a superhero everywhere he goes.”
And you know, why shouldn’t he? It’s fun, it’s invigorating, it’s exciting, and above all else… No one has ever told him he couldn’t. No one has ever told him he can’t be a superhero, and I, for one, have no intentions of doing so.
So of course, I got to thinking…
How are we running this race called life? Are we running like a superhero, or have we slowed down because somewhere along the way, someone told us we couldn’t do that?
We just celebrated Easter this past weekend, and it’s striking how Jesus was/is the only real-life superhero to ever live… He walked through His sphere of influence helping all who were in need who would receive His help. The sick were healed, the dead were raised, the shamed were given grace, the pious were exposed… He conducted the greatest rescue mission of all time, ultimately finishing the work that would impact all of humanity, past, present, and future. Wow! What a superhero!
So back to my question… How are you running? Are you running like Jesus did, full of passion and purpose, totally committed to the mission assigned to Him? Are you running carefree, face in the wind, ALL-IN? Or have your steps been hampered, either from disappointment, from being worn down by the routine, or maybe even from words spoken against you somewhere along the way?
Voices are powerful, and the voice we listen to determines where we will go in this thing called life. Just look at Adam in the Garden of Eden. When God came looking for him after he and Eve had sinned, Adam told God, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” I love God’s response: “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Genesis 3:10-11). Sure, they were naked. They were naked every other time they had walked with God, too. But this time was different. Their nakedness wasn’t the point. The point was that they had listened to a different voice, a conflicting voice, instead of the voice of their Creator. Their nakedness was not shameful until they stopped listening to the voice of God and started listening to the deception of the serpent. The problem wasn’t their nakedness. The problem was they had listened to the wrong voice.
So let me ask you…
Who told you that you can’t change the world?
Who told you that you won’t ever be anything above average?
Who told you that you’ll never rise above your current circumstances?
Who told you that you’re bound by your family history and will never break the mold?
Who told you that you can’t be a superhero?
Whether you’re battling words spoken to you from others or words spoken to you from within, I challenge you to cast those words off, like a prisoner casting off his broken chains, and rise, and RUN.
Your Creator’s words to you are life, hope, and purpose. He’s always speaking; if you’re not hearing Him, make sure you’re tuned in to the right channel. Hear the voice of the One who made you, the One who died for you, the One who loves you unconditionally.
Then rise, and dare to run. Run like Jesus did. Run like a superhero. And change your world.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
