It was 5:00 a.m. when Max climbed on the treadmill at his fitness center. He liked the challenge of finishing his exercises and then plunging into a 12-hour workday. As his body began to work up a sweat, his mind searched for something to break the boredom.
Max’s mental replay button flicked on, and he saw his beautiful wife. She was fanatically cleaning the house, as she did every day, totally ignoring anyone around her. Max often joked that he would receive more attention if he were a coffee table. There was not a speck of dust (or intimacy) in their house.
His brain shifted to his son, the star of every sport known to mankind. He was proud of his son, but he didn’t like it that the newspaper reporters knew more about him than he did.
His daughter was very special to him too. She was an impressive chemist now. She had never dated until she met Mr. Perfect. In one year they went from dating to marriage to divorce.
As Max raced in place, his heart ached over how the people he held so dearly had grown so far apart. They were all running so hard in their own directions that they were more like neighbors in an apartment building than a family nestled in a home. Somehow they had become very successful losers.
“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self” (Luke 9:24)? Max was beginning to realize that for all their feverish effort, his family was spiritually bankrupt.
What Max needed to know is that “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). Through God’s Son, we have forgiveness, a new identity, and a new reason for living. We don’t have to run away from our failures or run after being someone we’re not.
If you would like to get off the treadmill of life, listen to what Jesus has to say in his Word. It will change your life forever.
Pastor R.
