Cut it out completely

"So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet." Matthew 18:8 NLT

To say I was overjoyed to be able to run on Sunday would be a total understatement. Without a doubt, my early morning runs before church are my absolute favorites of the week. In fact, I love them so much that I did something many runners wouldn't dream of doing. I cut off a portion of the tongue on the right shoe of a new pair of my beloved HOKA running shoes. Why? Because it was irritating and compressing the anterior tendon on that foot which had become inflamed several weeks prior during an ultra marathon. So in order to continue running, I had to completely remove the source of the irritation. And before you say I ruined a good pair of expensive shoes, consider this... if I had tried to continue running with the tongue intact, it would have become too painful to bear and I would have had to stop. But with the small strip of fabric removed, I was able to finish the run I had started. 

And you know, many of the sins we hold onto work in the same way. They seem harmless at first but over time can cause irritation and pain so intense that they force us to drop out of the race. Which is the very reason Jesus said, "if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet." And while Jesus wasn't telling us to literally chop off our body parts, He was telling us that sin is a very serious thing--so serious, in fact, that we should go to radical lengths to remove it completely. 

So if there's a particular sin in your life that is threatening to keep you from reaching the finish line, remove it my friend no matter how much it might hurt to do so. You'll be so glad you did; because I can assure you that there is absolutely nothing worth missing heaven for and absolutely nothing worth going to hell for. Nothing.

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that there is nothing in this world that we could ever do or possess that is worth losing out on an eternity spent with You. Cause us to understand how fleeting our time on earth is compared to forever Lord that we would look to do and seek only those things that will please You and have eternal value. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!

Wake Up Sleeper - Austin French