In June this year, the UK celebrated its millionth parkrun. In case you don’t know what a parkrun is: it’s a well organised but informal running event held at weekends by volunteers at many different places across the country. It has become a popular phenomenon that provides excellent physical activity and brings participants of all ages and abilities together in a strong sense of community. Parkruns are now an international success, with half a million people running somewhere on the globe every weekend.
Many people run to keep fit. The Bible agrees that physical exercise is good for us, but also tells us that adding a different type of exercise into our lives offers even greater benefits. This is what the New Testament apostle Paul wrote to a disciple called Timothy:
‘For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come’ (1Timothy 4:8).
In the previous verse, Timothy was encouraged to ‘train yourself for godliness’. Many Bible versions translate the verse, ‘exercise yourself towards godliness’. In other words, there is a type of exercise we can do that builds our spiritual wellbeing rather than our physical health and stamina. It’s training that a true disciple of jesus Christ does to improve themselves as they strive to develop a character more like his. But how we do we do that?
The apostle Paul addressed that question when he used the analogy of preparing for a race. He wrote to the church at Corinth in this way:
‘Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable’ (1Corinthians 9:24-25).
He then added in verse 27 how he personally responded to the need for this kind of exercise:
‘But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified’ (1Corinthians 9:27).
In that way, he exhorted his readers to “discipline” their bodies so that they might win the race. The race he’s referring to is one in which everyone who successfully reaches the finishing line receives their reward, but his encouragement is for us to do our best to finish that race. To do so, we must always try to control our emotions and act in the right way in order to be more Christ-like.
Trying to control ourselves like that can be very difficult, but there are things we can do that help. For instance, just like an athlete is always careful in what they eat and drink in order to be in the best shape for a race, so a disciple must be wary of what they feed themselves: are we consuming things that build us into a stronger follower of Jesus, or are we feeding ourselves on things that draw us away from faithful discipleship?
Many athletes regularly take vitamins and supplements to keep themselves on top form. In a similar fashion, we should also be reading the Bible regularly, a source of very beneficial nourishment if we want to maintain or boost our spiritual health. The Psalmist likened reading God’s word to enjoying sweet honey: ‘How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!’ (Psalm 119:103).
By regularly reading God’s words, we will boost our spiritual wellbeing, becoming fitter and healthier as a disciple. It will also encourage us in the daily battle to control ourselves – to discipline our bodies as Paul put it – and so gradually develop behaviours that are more like Jesus’. So, yes, a regular Saturday morning parkrun is great for physical and mental wellbeing but, as Paul wrote to Timothy, also exercising ourselves in things relating to our spirituality brings even greater benefits.
Ian Coates
Read more at www.gladtiginsmagazine.org
