Episode 151 - Running for the Joy of it

 There are some quirks of humans which I have never understood. There is one which I have observed on numerous occasions that continues to confound me. It is so prevalent that I can't walk home from work without witnessing it; I have been invited to partake in it and I even know that some of you who are reading this will be among those who embody this most curious trait. It is simply this; there are some people in this world who jog… for fun. I have never understood this. I understand running after something, like a football, or away from something, like a axe wielding barbarian, but running just to run seems kind of odd. When I was in school I always enjoyed PE lessons, except that is, for cross country running. It just never seemed fun, merely something I had to endure until I got to the end when I could stop.

One of the new testament writers, Paul, wrote a lot about life being like running a race, and sometimes my attitude towards life can be very similar to my attitude towards jogging. It can be hard and tiring and something that I just need to endure, without being able to see how I could enjoy it. I think maybe I need to learn how to enjoy jogging. And then I think of times in my life when I have run without any reason. Not jogging. Not organised run from here to there, but chaotic run around in circles without direction or purpose, like a lamb who had just learnt how. And as I think about these times, I realise that my joy did not come from running, but rather my running came from my joy. Running was an expression of the overflow and abundance of joy in my heart, not the source of it. I think perhaps to live life with joy is the same; my life must be an outpouring of my joy rather than my joy being the fruit of my life.