The Value of Our Spiritual Training

Last summer, I decided to train for the Columbus Half Marathon. I had never run more than 3 miles in my entire life, but decided (with much encouragement from my super fit mother) to attempt this feat. With new shoes on feet and stop watch on wrist, I began my training for this race. But I quickly discovered that this was not going to be an easy accomplishment; in fact, I realized that in order to reach my training goals, I was going to have to change the way I lived my life.

I had to be disciplined in sticking with my training plan. I had to replace drinking wine or Diet Coke with consuming plenty of water. I had to force myself to get out of bed in the morning when I just wanted to sleep a little longer. I had to forego staying out late on the weekends so I could get up early to do my long runs. I had to put in maximum effort if I was to achieve my training goals.

1 Timothy 4:7 says to "train yourself for devotion". I have a scroll of spiritual goals that I desire to accomplish in order to become more devoted to Jesus and to his teachings. I want to know more about my faith so that I can talk about it and defend it with certainty and clarity. I want to dive into Scripture so that I can better understand this powerful God who I worship. I want to go to Confession consistently, attend Mass as many times in the week as I can, and take time daily for prayer. But the truth is that to accomplish these goals requires a daily change of heart and a change of lifestyle. And unfortunately, I am often less enthused to change my life for my spiritual training as I was for my physical training.

But it is then that I recall Timothy's words in verse 8 in which he says that this spiritual training "is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present and for the future". Though my half marathon training was valuable, the greatest extent of its value was that I could walk up stairs without getting out of breath and fit better into a pair of jeans. Yet this training in devotion, this persistent pursuit of God, offers me not just contentment and joy NOW, but the fullness of life for all of eternity.

We must train ourselves to ardently love God. We must train ourselves to remain committed to our faith and our relationship with Jesus. We must train ourselves for holiness by practicing self-control, fortitude, and temperance. And we must do it with great fervor and discipline. My prayer for us tonight is that we remain steadfast in our spiritual training and that we put in maximum effort to pursue this God who will stop at nothing to pursue us. May we not be boggled down by the hardships of our training, but may we keep our eyes fixed on the value of it--a deeper relationship with our Loving Father whose steadfast and all-consuming love is our source of life in the present and for all eternity. So let's get training, my friends! Peace be with you.