“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan? Jeremiah 12:5

 

*There is a memorable passage concerning Jeremiah’s life when, worn down by the opposition and absorbed in self-pity. He was ready to abandon his unique calling in God and settle for being a Jerusalem statistic. At that critical moment he heard the reprimand: “So, Jeremiah, if you’re worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can’t keep your wits during times of calm, what’s going to happen when troubles break loose like the Jordan in flood?” (Jer 12:5). 

Biochemist Erwin Chargaff updates the questions: “What do you want to achieve? Greater riches? Cheaper chicken? A happier life, a longer life? Is it power over your neighbors that you are after? 

Are you seeking greater wisdom, deeper piety?”Are you going to quit at the first wave of opposition? Are you going to retreat when you find that there is more to life than finding three meals a day and a dry place to sleep at night? Are you going to run home the minute you find that the mass of men and women are more interested in keeping their feet warm than in living at risk to the glory of God? Are you going to live cautiously or courageously? 

I called you to live at your best, to pursue righteousness, to sustain a drive toward excellence. It is easier to relax in the embracing arms of The Average. Easier, but not better. Easier, but not more significant. Easier, but not more fulfilling. I called you to a life of purpose far beyond what you think yourself capable of living and promised you adequate strength to fulfill your destiny.

If you are fatigued by this run-of-the-mill crowd of apathetic mediocrities, what will you do when the real race starts, the race with the swift and determined horses of excellence? What is it you really want, Jeremiah? Do you want to shuffle along with this crowd, or run with the horses? It is understandable that there are retreats from excellence, withdrawals from faith. It is easier to define oneself minimally  and live securely within that definition than to be defined maximally and live adventurously in that reality. 

It is unlikely, I think, that Jeremiah was spontaneous or quick in his reply to God’s question. He weighed the options. He counted the cost. He tossed and turned in hesitation. 

The response when it came was not verbal but biographical. His life became his answer, “I’ll run with the horses.”

And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:27 

*selected.. Run with horses