Showing Up is a reminder we have potential

​I recently read this from Andy Stanley:

Jesus is comfortable speaking to our potential while overlooking our performance.

When I read that my first thought was - that's like running.

For years I rejected the idea of ever becoming a runner. I suppose that's mostly because I didn't fit the mold of the runners I knew. I was bigger and slower and less athletic. And there's this - there wasn't a single bumper sticker on the back of my car.

Then one day I went for a run. It was predictably awful and full of struggle. But quite UN-predictably, when I was done, I felt better about the person who'd just run than I ever did about the person who spent years buried beneath excuses to not ever try it.

In the struggle, running was inviting me to consider who I could become. Running was inviting me to consider that the outcome of today's run is never about today - it's about helping me write the story of who I'll become tomorrow.

For years I hid from Jesus the same way I hid from running. Jesus had a collection of people following him I'd never be good enough to hang out with. Then one day I went for a run with Jesus and I discovered two things.

None of those people hanging out with Jesus were as good as I - or they - thought they were. And most importantly - I discovered Jesus wasn't interested in how good I was. He was interested in building instincts in me that made me good at wanting to love others.

Today, I'm not a great runner. But I keep showing up to the starting line because running keeps reminding me I have the potential to be better.

And today, I'm not always great at loving other people. But I keep inviting Jesus on runs with me because he's constantly reminding me my instincts to love other people are stronger today than they were yesterday.

We are all too quick to beat ourselves up about performance. Sometimes we're equally quick to beat others up for the same. Jesus has become my reminder that my journey isn't about who I am, but more about who I'm becoming.

Jesus is my reminder that my instincts to love others get better when I realize that's true of others as well.