By Richard L Spangler
Recently, I completed
the challenge of walking the Virginia Beach Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I had
never done anything like this before. It took two years of training and discipline,
and a lot of support from family and friends, as well as mountain of prayer. So
at sixty years old, this man who had a quadruple heart by-pass surgery seven
years ago started the race.
What started as a personal goal two years
ago, graduated to a 13.1-mile prayer walk for the seven cities of Hampton
Roads, the Commonwealth of Virginia and our nation. If that was enough, I found
myself saying thank you to the police officers, firemen and women and the
rescue personnel along the race route. Many of these men and women had a
surprised look on their faces and smiled and thanked me in return. Soon others, who were moving at the same pace
I was also began to do the same thing. This was showing thankfulness and
compassion to our first responders.
Somewhere, close to the half way point most
everyone including myself became very focused on the race. Going down this wooded
road with ditches on both sides a fellow race participant caught my attention.
She had moved off the road and was holding on to the speed limit sign. I passed
her but felt the urging of the Holy Spirit to go back. I asked, “Are you okay?”
she said, “Yes” I started to walk away and hear the Holy Spirit say, “She’s NOT
okay.” I went back and asked again. This time she said, “I am having problems
keeping my balance and walking straight. Can I use your arm to get me to the
center of the road and to steady me?” I said, “Yes. There is a water station just
down the road, I will you get there.”
We got to the water station and she thanked
me. Out of my mouth came “I Will walk with you some more to make sure your okay.”
As we walked she began holding my arm again.
I asked, a couple of times if she wanted medical help? She said, “No,
she wanted to complete the race.” After a short distance she said, I think I
need the paramedics. “As we came out of the wooded area there sat a rescue
unit. I yelled for their help and they came over to assist the lady.
I finished the race about 20 minutes later
than I would have but I still finished. As I thought about the day’s events, I
realized that many running their race were so focused on their finish they
missed an opportunity to show compassion to someone else.
We as believers are running our race for the prize
of the crown of glory (1 Corinthians 9:24 and Hebrews 12:1) but we are also to
run the race with compassion. Jesus was
moved with compassion, Matthew 9:35-37. Matthew 14:13-21 the feeding of the
5000 started with compassion. And again in Matthew 15:29-38 4000 fed. Luke
7:11-15 The raising of the Widow’s son and Matthew 20:30-34 the blinds eyes
opened, were done as Jesus was moved with compassion. Webster’s Dictionary
defines compassion:
sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to
alleviate it.
We as believers, we will finish our race but
we need to be moved with compassion as Christ was. I believe our planned works
for the Lord will earn us rewards. But, it is our unplanned acts of compassion,
prompted by the Holy Spirit that we hear “Will done my good and faithful servant…”
Run your race and run it well, by keeping
your eyes and ears open for acts of compassion along your course, so that you
will not only finish the race but will hear “Well Done...”
©COPYRIGHT 2015 RICHARD L. SPANGLER
