That's a Good Question?

For this blog, I simply present a series of questions.  I don't need or expect an answer from anyone. They are only to provoke serious thinking. A few of my Facebook friends have contributed a question or two, including my son Caleb. These questions are intended to make you think and to cause your brain to hurt. You are welcome:-)

1. Does suffering mean we are not in God's will, or is it a normal part of everyone's life?
2. Why are Christians afraid to speak to those who are different from themselves, including homosexuals, Muslims, Jews, agnostics, and atheists?
3. Is driving a big SUV or throwing a piece of trash out of your car window a sin?
4. Why is it so easy for people to stereotype others and believe stereotypes?
5. Which are bigger sins: (1) alcoholism and drug abuse or (2) gluttony and obesity?
6. Why are people so scared to meet in the middle on important social issues, instead of always being polar opposites and not budging from their positions?
7. Is it fair that two people are in a car accident and one is taken and the other one lives?
8. Is it reasonable to pray to God for your favorite sports team or for that big promotion at work when you pass a homeless person and ignore them on the way to see that team or go to your job?
9. Why are so many people of different faiths all 100% sure they are going to heaven, but they also are all 100% sure that ones in religions other than their own are not?
10. Why do we tell people all they need is Jesus to hold them, when they are lonely, abused, or sad and begging for the touch of another human being?
11. What happens to people after this life who have never heard the gospel because of geographic isolation, their government's policies, or a rigid social structure?
12. Can creationists find common ground with evolutionists in the area of environmental policy, sustainability and stewardship?
13. Can Christians and non-Christians work together for causes that are mutually beneficial to humanity and the good of society?
14. Is the gospel hard to fathom because of its simplicity; in other words could it really be that easy?
15. If the Earth was not created in exactly 7 24-hr days, does that mean that the creation of our world is any less amazing?
16. Is it possible to show your faith through being the best at whatever you do and pushing yourself to improve every day?
17. If God made man in His own image, how can any Christian call themselves a racist?
18. Were the Beatles oversimplifying life when they sang "All You Need is Love," or is love really the glue that holds the world together?
19. If Jesus returned on a Sunday morning, would he appear in the mega-church or in the streets talking to the homeless?
20. Even though we have amazing technology, are we any more connected to people than we were 100 years ago?
21. Since all cultures have music in common, could it be used as a tool to unite all cultures?
22. Is it immoral that the United States throws away millions of pounds of food every day, but we have millions of people starving in other countries?
23. Is the quantity of life (years of life) any more important than the quality of life (life in your years)?
24.  Is perfectionism ever possible; in other words is it possible for anyone to be 100% perfect in all areas of their life?
25. Why does life always produce more questions than answers?

Why I Love (and Hate) Running

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
~John Bingham

Running is a lot like life. You run at your own pace. You are prepared, but nervous and cautious about the road ahead.  It has a beginning and an end. In running, you know the course set out before you, but the course is different every time; there are different people around you each race and you may also have different weather conditions. You could have a new pair of shoes or a new playlist on your mp3 player. But the goal always remains: to reach the finish line.

I did not start out as a runner. I arrived kicking and screaming (or more like walking). When I lost around 55 pounds in 2008, I did it by cutting my food intake in half and walking about 3 miles a day. Walking is easy. It is what nearly every human does every day. You just put one foot in front of the other, and to go faster you move your feet faster. It's not rocket science. And, even though I was a fairly slow walker, I still completed a number of races: about six 5K's, 2 10K's, and even a half marathon. But I came to learn one very important fact about walking: no matter how fast you walk, there is a top speed that is easily reached by a normal, albeit quick, stride. (I am not including power walking or race walking, a sport at which it is very difficult to not look silly). So I came to realize that I had to join the ranks of the runners.

I started out running with more of a slow jog. I used the track at a local school and ran the straight areas and walked the curves. It was painful at first. My shins, ankles, and calves resisted this new motion. It seemed unnatural to my linebacker-shaped body (and it still does). But I persisted. No matter how quickly I ran, I could not pass my 17-year old son, who seemed to take amusement at watching me crawl along behind him. But like the tortoise in the great fable, I persisted. I am still slow; the physics of rate and speed are not sympathetic to me. Along the way, I found out there is a name for people my size who run: Clydesdales. I am not sure whether I should be offended at this title, as it denotes a huge, slow, prancing horse. Upon further analysis, I realized they are large, yet proud creatures that get the job done. So the name is fitting for me.

In 2012 I did my first run/walk 5K. My time was slow (although I would like to blame it on the fact that I missed the turn-around "cone").  I kept training and did another run/walk with my son a few weeks later and finished quicker than I thought. Since then, I had hoped to beat the time I set on that race. I have yet to beat it, but I went ahead and scheduled another race: The Leprechaun 5K. I trained hard and ran timed trials for myself every two weeks or so, but always along the trip I stopped a few times and walked to catch my breath. In my first run/walk 5K, I had run the whole first mile, a feat in itself and a first for me. I seriously thought that was my threshold, a mark I would never pass. I never dreamed that I could run a whole 5K.  But a week or so before my last race, I put it in my mind that I could run the whole race, at whatever pace I could muster.

From the first gun, I knew I had to try. I set a pace and kept chipping away, bringing up the rear along with a 70-year old man and a number of walkers and women pushing strollers.  Around the half-way point, I started to doubt myself. Fortunately, pain in my shins and legs was masked by adrenaline and self-will. Approaching the last half-mile, I was encouraged because I had kept up with the 70-year old and I passed him in slow motion right before the last downhill stretch, the theme to Chariots of Fire running through my mind. Then it was all downhill...literally... the road sloped downward to the finish line for the last quarter mile. As I moved across the finish line, I felt like I had run a marathon. And maybe it was a marathon for me.

The severe pain in my back, legs, and shins persisted for a number of days. But it was worth every step. Training for a run is hard and the pain on this 45-year old body makes me wonder why I do it. But the challenge of the next race, and the hope of beating my own time in the process, keeps me going. I guess I am hooked. I still enjoy lifting weights because it comes easy to me and it seems safer; my comfort zone of an exercise plan. But the draw of the next race keeps my fitness on track, my weight in check, and my sense of adventure on high alert. I love the results of running as it matches my goal-setting personality and strokes my sense of self-achievement, but I hate the pain it causes on my body. However, nothing can take away the great sense of completion you feel after a race. Crossing the finish line is a thrill that I cherish and will always enjoy.

And even if I finish every race in last place, I am still ahead of those watching on the sideline or resting in their easy chair. So to paraphrase the weightlifting adage, when it comes to running, my mantra reads "Some pain, much gain."

See you on the road...I'll be the tall guy running at the speed of a proud tortoise....

Feel free to leave a comment or email me directly at mcdsparks@gmail.com.

Who Do You Think I Am?

“You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7:5 NIV

From the time we are born, we begin building a reputation for ourselves. We are shaped by the forces of life around us, our parents and friends’ influences, and the choices we make. Along the way, we face hardships that make us think about ourselves, the kind of person we are, and the kind of person we are growing to be. Those around us are always watching, making guesses and drawing assumptions about the person they believe us to be…at least in their minds. Then we mess up, and it is easy for them to categorize us, pigeon-hole us, and weigh the sentence they will impose on our lives. For some, we are cursed by the choices we have made. We are made to live in a social dungeon, in a prison of failure. It does not matter if we repent or keep on doing stupid things; those former choices could shape the perceptions of those around us until we fold our hands in rest. 

Is that the end of the story? Or are we much deeper than they want us to be.

Smugness is easy for some. It is so much easier to believe in black in white, in a good or bad person, or a fulfilled or wasted life. It is easy to assume that we know the motives behind people’s choices, even though we have not lived their lives, or walked in their shoes, or seen the world through their eyes. How can we hope to understand them unless we search deep into our souls to find out the depths of depravity that we all may hold inside us? We are all one step away from a wasted life, a haunting choice, or an economic catastrophe that makes us destitute or even homeless. We cannot change the family we were born into, or the country in which we were raised. Circumstances and the choices of others around us can also lead us to where we are today.

Am I excusing the bad choices some of us make? Of course not.  Justice for crimes we commit is not only necessary but also required by God and society.  I am saying that compassion and reason should rule our lives. We should use Christ as our example. He even prayed for those who were literally crucifying him.  He saw the person, but did not judge them to be a lost cause or without hope. How can we not give everyone else the same courtesy that Christ gave them?

So when you look at me, do you think you know the person that lies beneath this skin? I am a person of imperfection, but with a tender heart that sees the good in others, and even in myself. I have made choices I regret and I have to live with those, but they do not shape me. They do not sentence me to an eternity of nothingness or a life of constant repentance and self-deprecation.  I must move forward. And I must not let your assessment of me shape the rest of my life.

When people reflect on me at the end of my life, many will not like what they saw. Many will think they know the person that lies beneath the soil. But only God will know that heart, and will decide if my life is worthy of resting with him. I give my life to Him and ask that he see the original choice I made to follow Him. May I only seek his approval, and leave all others to their judgments.

In the end, tears will be shed for me…tears of anger or regret or of love.  But my hope is that He will wipe all those tears away…for whatever reason they are shed. 

Feel free to leave a comment or email me directly at mcdsparks@gmail.com.