The lighthouse stands as a beacon of hope and a warning of danger. In its constant glow is found motivation - to move toward the harbor or to escape the rocky crags of the shore.
Today, I have been thinking about that silent motivation.
I have been running - okay I always have to add this qualifier: you wouldn't really call what I do running, but it is cardiovascular and aerobic in nature - since last Fall.
I hate running.
My daughter was my first motivation. Having recently joined the "Running Club" at school and in preparation for the upcoming "Pumpkin Run", she had taken to running some on her own at home.
I decided to join her . . . as is typical, I learned from Ab.
She told me about how you should run at a rate that allows you to carry on a conversation, and she told me how her teacher prays when she runs.
We had a good time. AA even joined in at times.
We do not live in a "neighborhood" instead we live in what we in the South refer to as "the country". There is a small patch of woods and half a stone path that separates our home from our closest neighbor - my wife's brother and his family.
Since the track that Ab and I had mapped out included his driveway, he noticed our running.
So around November he started running as well.
Now my brother-in-law and I are alike in some ways but on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to timing: he loves to run in the morning - and at least during daylight - I find that I prefer to run after dark and as a means of winding down from the day.
So we run at different times.
Now lately it has been cold, and my breathing has been hampered by the lingering remains of an earlier cold. That coupled with the fact that I can't seem to get anyone to join me anymore and I have grown tired of running the same course - has all left me discouraged with running (which I don't really like anyway).
But every day or so, I see my brother-in-law, making his run.
He stands as a silent motivator. . . a sight that quietly holds me accountable.
Last Sunday, our Sunday School teacher focused the study on the disciples of Jesus, known as the "inner circle". The four that seemed to be closer to Jesus than the others: Peter, Andrew, James and John. He pointed out how that among them, Andrew seemed to be the one content to let someone else get the glory. He didn't seem to care who got the credit.
Andrew stands as one of those silent and steadfast motivators who leads by example. Unlike his brother, Peter, who would sometimes display a sort of "holy hubris", Andrew would just steadily do the right thing without fanfare.
Among some, he is known as the disciple of small things ... indeed it was a small boy with a small lunch that Andrew brought to Jesus that day of the miraculous feeding of five thousand. He was always bringing people to Jesus. In fact when we first meet him, he is running to get his brother, Peter, to tell him he has found "the Christ".
Much has been made about the negative connotations of being a "silent witness" for Christ. In many Christian circles, this is observed to be a cop-out.
But there is something about a silent motivator - one that - like my brother-in-law - compels others to do the right thing simply by regularly doing the right things.
Do you remember the story of Daniel, how that even his enemies were keenly aware of the consistent nature of his prayer-life?
I think God is calling us to become consistent. Look around, is there anything in the world today that people can trust to stay the same? How brightly would one stand out if they chose to do the right things daily - not to be seen, but to honor God?
Oh that I can become a silent and steadfast motivation for others.
And by the way, I learned something else about Andrew. According to tradition, while he was not boisterous and did his service to God without fanfare - he was not silent.
When Andrew was hung on the "Saint Andrew's Cross", tradition says he did not cease preaching Jesus to all who passed by.
Consistent in bringing people to Christ to the end.
"...let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus . . . " Hebrews 12 1b & 2a KJV
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