Running 25,000 Miles to Eternity

Last night I had a dream.  I was standing in line to see Jesus and receive my eternal placement.  The anticipation of not only seeing Jesus, but hearing my eternal destination was overwhelming and terrifying.  I went over and over in my mind how I had chosen to live my life and my personal relationship with God.  I knew I could have done better and that scared me.  Finally, my turn was up, Jesus looked at me, looked through his papers and stated, “you must run 25,000 miles before going into Heaven”.  What?!  My heart sank, I was devastated, but determined that I must run those 25,000 miles.  I then proceeded to go to a green grassy field, where I was instructed to run my miles and upon completion I would be re-evaluated for entry into Heaven.  Next to the green grassy area was a wooden bridge, crossing over into a new place (that of which I did not realize the significance until later on).

My total miles completed was around 20,000, when Jesus decided to check in with me.  He asked me what I was learning and how many miles I had left.  I thought to myself, “what I was learning?...”  I was totally not expecting that question.  I had to think about it.  Suddenly, I realized I was actually learning way more than I realized.  As I was running, I was also reflecting back on my life.  I began to understand the purpose of running 25,000 miles.  It was not to earn my way, but it was meant to reflect back on what I could have done better, and how I could have influenced more lives for God’s Kingdom. 

I started to discuss with Jesus opportunities that I missed and where I took a backseat to what He was asking me to do.  After this time of reflection, Jesus had to be on His way.  He looked at me with His eyes of ultimate, unconditional love, which made me feel astounded, amazed, and overwhelmed with a love that I had never known before.  As He walked away, to my surprise, I shouted out, “I love you!”  He looked at me and replied, “I love you too”.  This test of 25,000 miles was all about obedience, perseverance, and learning to love.  Running was no longer a task, it was something that I wanted to do because I loved my Father.      

The day was finally here, I had run the 25,000 miles, Jesus looked at me and we walked across the wooden bridge and into His eternal Kingdom.

This morning, I woke up and knew this dream was not just intended for me, but that I needed to be obedient and share its message with others.  The completion of running 25,000 miles was not to earn my way into Heaven.  Nothing we do will ever earn our way into Heaven.  Salvation is freely given when we accept God and His gift to each of us. 

Ephesians 2:8-9,

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (New Living Translation).

This dream signifies that God desires us to not only be obedient and persevere through the trials in this world, but to remember the love that He has for each of us.  That love is not menial, it is not insignificant, it is real and alive, and He desires us to love Him back.  As I was running those 25,000 miles, I began to realize just how much Jesus desires me to love Him.  That love that I have for Him, enables me to complete tasks that are far beyond what any of us could do on our own.  This love means ultimate obedience and endurance to complete this life, in which we have been given.  We should not take this lightly, we should run 25,000 miles.  What in your life seems like running 25,000 miles that you have been putting off?  If you were to stand face-to-face with God and tell Him that you love Him, what would you be compelled to do?      

Someone is CRAZY about you!

How often do you find yourself looking at the mirror and lacking confidence in yourself?  We are all created differently, but that does not define our beauty.  Merriam-Webster defines beauty as, “the quality of being physically attractive; the qualities in a person or a thing that give pleasure to the senses or the mind; or a beautiful woman” (2014).  The world has defined a women’s beauty as outward, and often times that is something that we see as thin, flawless, and perfect in every expression of the female body.  We must each understand that no one is the same and we are each perfectly created by the Master.  One of the most beautifully written love letters from the bridegroom to the bride is in Song of Solomon.  This book was written to express God’s love to us as His children.  

Song of Solomon 4:7, 

“You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way” (New Living Translation).

Take a moment and let that verse sink in, let it penetrate every fiber of your being.  You are beautiful, beautiful in every way.  

For me this is a daily struggle.  I must continue to remind myself that God created me just as I am.  Now, am I saying that living a life of complete and total unhealthiness is okay?  If we are all beautiful then shouldn’t we stop taking care of ourselves?  Absolutely not, our bodies belong to Christ, so we must honor God with our bodies and that means choosing to live a healthy lifestyle.  

1 Corinthians 6:19-20,

"Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body" (New Living Translation). 

We each have a choice to make, we can either let our physical appearance, disabilities, and/or imperfections define who we are or we can choose to honor God with our life, our bodies, and our whole spirit. 

“None of us would turn down the opportunity if God said, ‘Pick one thing you don’t like about yourself and I’ll change it.’  If you’re like me, you might even say, ‘Lord, may I pick ten things?’” (Squier, 2010, p. 67).  Satan is great at making us feel like we’re worthless, ugly, and completely imperfect.  In those moments we must also remember, who we find our strength and confidence in.  Jesus loves us just as we are; we are completely perfect in His sight.  

Max Lucado writes,

"If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.  If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it.  He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.  Whenever you want to talk, he’ll listen.  He can live anywhere in the universe, and he choose your heart.  And the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem?  He’s crazy about you" (Squier, 2010, p. 68).

Jesus has a “heart overflowing with love, saying, ‘I’m crazy about YOU!’” (Squier, 2010, p. 68).  What an amazing, wonderful, loving Father we serve!  From here on out, live like someone is absolutely CRAZY about YOU!  That will not only change your outward appearance, but it will also change your heart.  Look not only for opportunities to remind yourself of this, but also look for opportunities to remind others of this.  It’s so easy to let the world sway our opinions of ourselves and others.  I challenge you today to look for the beauty in yourself and in every person around you!  Speaking from experience – one compliment can change not only a person’s day, but their life.  Knowing you have purpose, beauty, and a life filled with people who love you is simply amazing! 

Psalms 139:14

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well” (New International Version).

Reference:

Squier, J. (2010). His majesty in brokenness. Lexington, KY: Judy Squier.