striving to bloodshed

I've gotten a lot of comments about Crossfit lately. Probably because I find it relevant to many of life's commonplace conversations and queries. Some one comes into Starbucks complaining of their soreness ("Have you been stretching warm?""Taking enough fish oil?") or their lack of weight-loss (sometimes weight-gain).... Other people are looking for something honest, or something that pushes themselves towards their idea of perfection. Usually, people are looking to be a part of something greater than themselves (Big Brothers/Big Sisters are looking for you, as is your local fellowship of Christ-followers), but they feel inadequate- not enough energy, don't know where to begin, etc. That's where it's easiest to make the connection with CrossFit. "Where do I begin?" At your nearest box, rolling out your neck, running through the paces for which your body was made, to find the limit of you and the empowering community of people cheering you on, cursing with you past the pain of NEAR-defeat, congratulating you when you reached the point you couldn't surpass... yet. That's life. Those of you in church, that. is. life. Those of you outside the church, I'm sorry it took physical pain that you paid dearly for, in a group of people looking to attain something that will only last as long as your mortal bodies to see real life. There is more to life, though it can be easier to see it one step at a time starting with the tangible. Suffice to say, these are lessons taught from ancient near-eastern jews through our own present time, but somewhere along the lines we forgot that it's GOD's love that compels us. That striving to bloodshed against sin is our calling, for some the sin is apathy, or gluttony, but the goal is community the likes of which we cannot fathom. I miss my group of crazy athletes- the mothers and fathers, college kids, high school crushers, and coaches that showed me what it means to live "balls out," "all in," and generally as we've been called by GOD, holding nothing back for the next race that will never come. Thank you.