Personal Best

Read Matthew 22:34-40

Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
-Hebrews 12:1-2 (NRSV)

WHEN I first started on the swim team at 11 years old, I wasn't a great competitor, but I loved records. I made it my goal always to break my own. Sometimes I would be the last one to finish in a race; but I would jump out of the water, run excitedly to the coach, and say, "Hey, coach, I beat my best time!"

My performance improved, and later I won the district in the 100-yard breaststroke during high school. But the best part about that race was that I beat my previous best time. This way of thinking became part of my personality, and it became part of my faith too.

In Matthew 22:34-40 Jesus taught the greatest commandment, but keeping it sounds difficult, almost impossible. Still, I've learned from swimming that we don't reach our goal on the first day of practice. Learning to love God and our neighbor takes a lot of persistence, and we will face many setbacks. It is easier to love others when we're not worried about who is winning and who is losing, who is better and who is worse. Instead, we can find ways to celebrate our gifts together. And though we will not become saints overnight, we can do a little better each day. I'm not yet what God wants me to be, but thank God I'm better than I used to be.

by David Turner (Texas, USA)