June 6 | Acts 20:18-38

David Thompson
Jun 6
3 min read

DAILY READING

REFLECTION

Run the Race that God has Given You

By David Thompson

This is a great passage, as once it is totally understood by the reader (and it might take two or three reads to do that), it lays out our life's direction. It gives us complete happiness if we follow God's direction. It was exemplified in Paul.

You probably know someone who reminds you of Paul to a degree. I do and it was my David Mainse, he was my uncle and a great servant of Jesus Christ. You see, in all the years I knew my uncle, I never once saw him vary from the path Christ laid out for him. From early in my life, he was a positive male influence. As I grew, I saw Pastor Mainse in a small church in Sudbury, Ontario and a medium sized church in Hamilton, Ontario. Besides that he started a weekly 15 minute radio show extoling Christ. That radio show became a weekly 30 minute TV show. Ultimately, he created an hour show that was shown across Canada on a daily basis.

With all of that, he still pastored a church until the daily show was created and often drove 2 1/2 hours to my parents' house to be a spiritual guide. The last time I saw him, he was riding an older Harley Davidson from Florida to Ontario, Canada. We met him at a restaurant and after a few "good to see you" statements. He asked me and my wife "How is your relationship with the Lord?" It must not have been really easy riding that far, as he had been diagnosed with Leukemia two years before and it had been just about two years when he rode up to the restaurant and then our farm in Peru, Indiana. I can't explain the man except as our passage points out that Paul ran the race that Jesus Christ had laid before him. That's what my uncle did on a daily basis. He simply exuded Christ and it changed my life for the better. I walked down the aisle at a speaking engagement he had and gave my life to Christ. He was there in Buffalo holding me, my mom and my little brother when he heard that my parents were filing for divorce. He died a year after that amazing motorcycle visit. I never saw him again, but will someday in Heaven. I always tear up at the thought of all Christ had done in his life and how that had impacted me.

Paul shared with his charges that he was going to Jerusalem. Many warned him not to. As it turned out, he was beaten and arrested and then sent to Rome. He took his friends warnings, but told them that he had to go and share Christ to all there. He told his friends that he would probably never see them again, and he didn't.

To quote my Uncle, "How is your relationship with the Lord?"

PRAYER

Dear Lord, how can I sum up the lives of your amazing servants in just a few paragraphs. Actually it is easy. Paul and David Mainse were sold out servants of Jesus Christ and their lives and their influence touched many toward giving their lives to You. Like Paul, help us to give ourselves completely to You and forgive us when we fail. Help us to run our race and tell others of You. That is all you ask and hope for each of us. Thanks for loving us. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Thompson

I am the administrator of the Daily Worship Blog. My wife, Carla, and I have been attending UALC for seven years at the 9 o'clock service at Mill Run. We have two children, Catherine and Aaron. I have been a Christian for 53 years and am thankful that my Savior has given me two spiritual gifts that have carried me both spiritually and vocationally all my life: they are teaching and administration. I look forward to spending many years here at UALC to serve my Lord and Savior.