Spiritual Training Cycle: Foundation (wk. 3/13)
The 40-minute EMOM was brutal
Whoever created the rhythm of an Every-Minute-On-The-Minute workout needs to be jailed for cruel and unusual punishment. This particular EMOM was longer than any I could remember in 4+ years of CrossFit. Minute one: 15 calories on a rower. Minute two: 35 double-unders. Minute three: 14 calories on a bike. Minute four: 12 burpees. Minute five: rest (as if you could recover at all after the first four minutes!) Repeat for eight rounds: a total of 40 minutes. Brutal!
But here’s what happened: a number of my fellow athletes – particularly the ones who know the benefits of CrossFit – really “leaned into” this workout. They pushed themselves to finish the specific exercise as quickly as they could, not taking the whole minute. They yelled encouragement to everyone else in the middle of things. They smiled as they moved from exercise to exercise. They even thanked the coach afterwards for a great workout. Instead of passively reacting to the work in front of them, they embraced how it was making them better.
“Leaning-In” as a CrossFit athlete
I’ve come to learn this is true of most good CrossFit athletes: at some point in their journey, they “lean-in” – they go from accepting the coach’s workout to exulting in the coach’s workout. They revel in the physical stress, knowing it is making them better.
“Leaning-In” as a Christ-follower
Choosing to join a group of other athletes who push themselves is nothing like the persecution that first century Christians experienced. However, this “leaning in” to a tough workout reminded me of a quote from MLK in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, “The early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the Church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.”
Indeed, in his letter to these early believers living in the city of Colossae, the Apostle Paul talked about life in the early church. He reminded these new believers of where they had come from and where they were going:
“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel . . .” Colossians 1:21-23
In some respects, he was challenging them: you are now a part of this new spiritual community; you have been transformed by the grace of God. Therefore, be sure to “lean-in” to your new Christian faith and continue the work God began in you.
What about you – how do you “lean-in” to your own spiritual development?
Questions for Reflection:
Who do you know that is a workout “thermostat” rather than a workout “thermometer?”
How has being in a fitness community helped you lean-in to your physical fitness?
What would it look like to be in a spiritual community that helped you lean-in to your spiritual life?
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