Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  Heb 12:1-2

When an athlete trains in a sport other than the one in which he or she normally competes, it’s called cross-training.  The goal of training this way is to improve overall performance (e.g., a golfer who weight lifts, a tennis player who rides a bike and a boxer who jumps rope). More effective preparation and eliminating weaknesses is the idea behind this process. 

Surely, cross training holds many benefits for those who practice it. Athletes around the world have seen great improvements in performance as a result of intentionally stretching their bounds. Amazingly, there is another form of “Cross Training” that promises to improve performance at a far greater level. As followers of Christ, we believe the key to heaven and the key to a new and fulfilled life on earth hung on a Cross over 2000 years ago. 

In this season of such general uncertainty, we discover in 1 Cor 6:19 that we are temples of His Holy Spirit; we are not our own, we have been bought with a price, and because we are His, we are to glorify Him in our personality and body.  In Romans 12:2, He says we must escape conforming to this corrupted world system by being transformed in the renewing of our mind.  In 1 Cor 10:31, His Word says, “Whatever we eat or drink or whatever we do, we are to do to His glory.” In 1 Thes 5:23, the apostle Paul connects the divine dots further when he prays, “And may the God of peace sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Some of us may have chosen to be athletes of particular sports. Let’s be encouraged to carefully examine our current training program to help make us perform at the best level.

Family and friends, in the natural, all of us are athletes in “playing life.” May we run from anything that is not God’s super-natural training agenda—the one that powers us Spiritually, renews our mind, and helps us to act righteously. May the great Apostle Paul’s primary focus and motivation to preach Christ, the cross, and Him crucified inspire us within to behave in a more holy fashion.

Dedicated belief, an attitude of gratefulness for what He’s done and will do on our behalf, and a burning heart to invite others to join with us in His “Cross Training” is the true-life flow and the best place for us to start, especially for such an uncertain time as this.

1 Tim 4:8; Hebrews 13:5; Psalm 139:14; Phil 1:6; 1 Peter 2:24-25; John 6:63