Original: December 11, 2007
McMinnville, OR
7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? Galatians 5:7
All three of our boys are incredibly into sports. All of them vary in their skill levels but our family is involved in some kind of sport year round.
James, the courageous one, excels in extreme sports like snowboarding, skateboarding, wakeboarding and football. Although he is undersized in football his “fear-nothing” attitude towards the sport has made him a two way starter and team leader. He has what I call the “Crazy Gene” which fears nothing but defeat.
Darby is the meticulous one. Not being a risk taker Darby, like his dad, is more of a planner. He thrives in the processes of preparation and strategy. His sports of football, basketball and running (he also enjoys wakeboarding and snow boarding) take great amounts or preparation and strategy. His graceful stride puts him ahead in most races. His attention to the detail of what coaches are looking for has caused him to excel far beyond his normal limits. He was the second leading receiver on his freshman football team and was a varsity distance runner as a freshman at the highest high school level in Oregon.
Colton is the natural one. Although they are his biggest fan, it kills his brothers to see his natural talent. He was graced with amazing hand-eye coordination, tremendous speed, on-the-spot reaction time, and all the cockiness to be your more conventional three sport athlete. He is a natural leader and in every sport he has played “Moke” (as we call him) has been one of the team’s go-to players. Our biggest challenge with him is teaching him to be humble, coachable and to know from where his help comes (Psalm 12:12).
Growing up the kids loved to race but their races often ended up with one of the younger boys bloody and scratched up as the older ones never let the younger ones win. This led to a simple rule when racing: “Do not push a brother down!” Some racers stretch at the end of a race, but my boys push! Mom and dad hold their breath on the final stretch hoping nobody goes for the push instead of the stretch at the finish line!
Paul is writing to a church that has some major problems.
Jewish believers had entered this Southern Asia region and were preaching a message that all men had to be circumcised to be a part of the Body of Christ. In my 40’s I can see why getting circumcised (with no anesthesia) would create conflict among the Gentile (non-Jewish) men who were new believers!
Can’t you?
Apparently these Jewish believers were following the Gentile men into the restrooms (or whatever they had back then) and were spying on them!
That is a man-law violation on so many levels!
Most of the book of Galatians is littered with Paul admonishing these churches to run the right race. In verse 7 of chapter 5 Paul says something in the New International Version that makes me laugh, “Who cut in on you?” The “cut in” comment makes me cringe when I think of the irony of the overall situation. His words make me think of being cut off from Christ as the foreskin is cut from the male at circumcision. I also think of my boys’ cutting in at the finish line in order to win by cheating.
The bottom line of this passage is that men of Jesus must be careful to run their race of faith to the end. It is so easy to be influenced by others if a man’s faith is not fixed on Jesus (Colossians3:3, Hebrews 12:1-2). A man’s faith comes into jeopardy when it is no longer he running it but others running it for him.
I had a college coach by the name of Ron De Moner who used to say, “Don’t worry about the guy next to you. Just do your job!”
A man cannot worry about anyone else’s faith until he first takes care of his own. A man needs to run his race. A man needs to do his job before he worries about anyone else.
