Recently I found out that one of my martial arts "heroes," Bill Wallace, is still teaching and kicking at seventy!
As I have mentioned before, I returned to martial arts when I turned 50 last year. It's been a great experience. And seeing Bill Wallace, still strong at seventy, is very encouraging indeed!
This inspired a YouTube search where I found a video of Wallace teaching, giving some great exercises for endurance. I watched as he made the students in the class lift their leg, leave it up and kick, over and over again.
Building endurance is not a pleasant experience. It basically takes pushing yourself beyond what you can endure, so that you grow stronger and can endure more. Although you make progress, often slowly, you always need the pain and discomfort in order to move forward.
The same can be said of walking with the Lord. James tells us.
"Dear brothers and sisters,when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." James 1:2-4 (NLT)
Or, in the words of the Christian author Jerry Bridges, "Just as our physical muscles will not grow in strength without exercise, so our spiritual life will not grow apart from circumstances that challenge us."
Bill Wallace is still kicking at seventy, because he did the work his entire career.
May we be walking stronger each day in the Lord as we mature in him.
