“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
– Mark 12:30

Being fit is one thing, being an athlete is another. Experts say that thirty minutes of exercise at a comfortable pace four times a week will make us fit. So two hours a week of running, walking, biking or swimming will allow an individual to maintain a basic level of fitness. It doesn’t matter whether the activity is done in the morning, afternoon or evening, it just has to be scheduled and completed. Fitness can be measured and tested. It’s paying attention to the minimum requirements of the body. To be an athlete requires two hours of training also, but it must be done every day instead of every week. The athlete must take training to another level. He must push his abilities to the limit, giving the maximum his body can give. Being an athlete is not something you do for two hours a week, it’s something you are. It requires twenty-four hours a day every day. What an athlete eats, how much rest he gets and the intensity of his training have a direct impact on his success. Fitness helps us see the life we should lead. Being an athlete means we have found it.

Being a Christian is one thing, but giving God everything is another. We may go to church each week, give financially, teach Sunday School and maybe even sing in the choir. We exercise our faith two hours a week maintaining a comfortable level of “spiritual fitness”. We proudly collect our perfect attendance pin, convince ourselves that we put more in the offering plate than most and learn a great deal about the Bible as we prepare to teach others. How easy it is to settle for the minimum requirements of our faith. God does not want us to be spiritually fit, He wants us to be spiritual athletes. To become a spiritual athlete requires us to give everything we have. It requires us to give our all twenty-four hours a day every day. God must be more important than anything in our life. We must give Him all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. We must watch what we put in our mouth. We must watch what comes out of our mouth. We must get proper rest and we must train property with plenty of Bible study and prayer. Being spiritually fit helps us to see the life we should lead. Being a spiritual athlete means we have found it.

Heavenly Father, You provide for my every need. Help me today to give you the maximum and not settle for the minimum. Teach me to give my all for Your Kingdom. Amen.