The Treadmill

… train yourself to be godly

1 Tim 4:7

‘What on earth is under that blanket?’ asked my son.

He was in the process of retrieving some things he’d stored in our garage and had come across a few large items draped in old blankets. Curious to know more, he pulled the blankets off and uncovered long-unused fitness equipment of various kinds, the largest of which was a good quality treadmill.

‘What a waste’, he exclaimed! I winced a little and assured him I was getting my exercise in other ways. But was I?

Our spiritual life can be like that too. God has given us top-notch, state of the art exercise equipment to keep us spiritually fit. But do we use them? Or are they under a blanket, forgotten at the back of our spiritual garage?

• The Bible is our daily bread, a sword that cuts away sin, a lamp that guides us and milk that nourishes growth. We all have it, as physical books and amazing digital Apps. But what a waste if they remain unused.
• Prayer is our spiritual breath, without which we soon become breathless and weak, disconnected from a moment-by-moment awareness of God being with us.

Spiritual fitness demands just as much discipline, routine and application as physical fitness but the results last much longer. So, get the blanket off your ‘treadmill’ and as The Message puts it:

‘Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever’ (1 Tim 4:7-8 Message). 

#lifeisaparable