Lifting weights

The winter weeks drag on. The extra weight we gained over the holidays is still with us. Time to go to the gym and work out. Time to start an exercise program and get back in shape.

I walked into the gym. I saw a man lifting weights; lifting 200 lbs. looked so easy. I tried it; the weights wouldn’t budge. The guy just laughed at me. “I’ve been lifting weights for several years now. I began with the lighter weights. My instructor also taught me the art of weight-lifting. Over the months, I’ve developed my muscles, along with an understanding of how to lift heavier weights.

The Gym of Life is like that. The Instructor offers to put us on a Spiritual Exercise Program. He offers to teach us how to lift the heavy weights we encounter in our daily living. It’s an offer we dare not refuse!

We begin with the 25-50 lb. weights. These are those minor disappointments and annoyances we face every day. “I wanted to go to the game, but it was rained out.” “On no, there’s a flat on my car; I’ll be late for work.” Usually, we can lift these weights by ourselves, or with a little help from our friends.

The 100 lb. weights are more of a challenge. “I didn’t make the team; I know I’m as good as the others.” “That foreman is always on my case; today he accused me of something I didn’t do.” “The washer went, there’s a leak in the roof, and we don’t have money to pay for either.”

We need help with these weights. We turn to a friend for sympathy and strength. We look for a shoulder to cry on. Someone to talk to, to share our burden, helps a lot. Under pressure like this, we often turn to God in prayer.

With some help from God, and from our friends, we can usually handle these problems.

The 300 lb. weights push us to the limits. “I worked there for 30 years, and they just fired me for no reason.” “I went for my regular check-up. They found cancer; I have only six months to live.” “I don’t love you anymore; I want a divorce.” We cannot lift these weights by ourselves, or even with some help from our friends. We turn to our Instructor. We find strength and courage in his promises: “Come to Me, all who are loaded down, and I will give you relief.” And “The sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the rewards of Heaven, where there will be no more suffering and pain.” Thanks be to God who gives us the victory!

The last weights, the 1,000 lb. weighs, are impossible for us to lift. Chaos. Poverty. Corruption. Killing. Terrorism. Evil. Sin. Death. We are too weak to lift any of these weights. As we worry about these heavy burdens, our Instructor come and lifts these weights for us!

“See the Cross! It’s the Gold Medal I received from my Father for lifting all the heaviest weights!” Christ comes to us, stands beside us, and shoulders all the burdens we could never lift by ourselves.

Time for us to get in shape! Physically. Mentally. Spiritually.

Our Instructor teaches us how to lift those weights that are within our limits. He personally lifts those weights that are too heavy for us to lift.

Thanks be to God!

Dr. Don Kuehle, United Methodist, Retired, Jackson