I am a HUGE NASCAR fan.
There, I said it.
I love the cars, the, um, disagreements between drivers, the inherent danger involved. I love the all-out speed and testosterone fueled pageantry of it all. I love the sound of pure, unadulterated American horsepower unleashed and the way the earth seems to literally move when beneath your feet when the green flag is dropped. If that makes me a red-neck, then you'll just have to call me a red-neck! I'll sleep well; I've been called much worse...
You may have read the title of this post and wondered "what in the heck does a bunch of cars going fast and turning left have to do with the apostle Paul?" Well, as a race fan, I've been watching speed weeks coverage at Daytona International Speedway, leading up to this weekend's Daytona 500 (otherwise known as NASCAR's Super Bowl). During a recent practice session, one of the cars slowed and pulled to the side of the track. The driver called to his crew over the radio and told them there was a problem with the transmission, and more specifically that the car was stuck IN GEAR, and he couldn't get it out of gear. One of the wreckers at the track had to pull the car back to the garage where the crew could repair it and get it ready for the big race.
In 1 Corinthians 9:24, Paul tells us that (paraphrasing) all the racers race, but only one gets the prize, and We should race in such a way to receive the prize. The Daytona 500 is so named because it is a 500 mile race. Today's technology has advanced most of the NASCAR cars to the point that they will make the 500 mile distance with no problems. However, the 500 mile distance was originally a test of endurance that placed an incredible amount of stress on the drivers, engines, and the chassis. If you won the race, it meant that the car and the driver held up under tremendous stress to persevere to the prize.
As I watched that broken car coast to a stop in the track, I began to wonder how many of us running the race have fallen victim to those same transmission problems. Ask yourself this question: am I stuck in gear, doing the same old things but getting nowhere? Am I coasting to the edge of the track or am I making a difference? See, we're called to run the race...every now and then, all of us must make a pit stop and let our crew (the fellowship and encouragement of Jesus' church) repair us so that we are running our race with our eyes on the prize. We run with a mission, with the Great Commission as our main sponsor on the hood, and our trophy is Jesus Himself!
Let's go racin'!
MCL
