I knew a man who, when he played golf, would run after his tee shot occasionally. He may just have been keen to see where the ball landed but I reckon he just wanted to take less time to play a round. His dad wasn't very different either for every Sunday, just before the minister started the service, he would run up the aisle to his seat at the front, as if being pursued by somebody. I guess it was in the genes. When I was much younger and we had lots of cattle on the farm, an almost weekly task involved rounding up some of the stock to send to market or bringing one animal into the cattle crush to inject or dose it against some disease. Many times dad and I spent ages luring the animals in question to within touching distance of the gate and so often, just when they seemed ready to pass through, one would break away from the group and within seconds the rest would run off in ten different directions. Dad had taught me never to try to bring one animal out of a field on its own as it rarely worked. I guess it probably looked around and wondered why it was being singled out for special attention. Anyway, no matter how many times the animals made their getaway, dad would never give up his pursuit of them and even if he had to walk to the furthest corner of the field to retrieve the stock, he would do so and slowly ushered them back towards the gate. I think he worked on the principle that they would get tired before he did. He also taught me something else about the whole process and that was never to chase after them when they darted off because they could most probably outrun us and we were only wasting valuable energy. And he was so right. Often, when a cow broke away from the rest and turned round to see nobody in hot pursuit, she would stop, turn around and amble back to the herd. I'm sure dad learned it all from his father so it must have been in the genes.
Unfortunately the same advice didn't work on the rugby field and there is nothing more annoying than pursuing an opponent with all your muscles pumping at their maximum output and watching him move further out of reach with every stride and with apparent less effort than you are having to exert. And of course the reverse is also true when you are the pursued and someone is gaining on your tail faster than you can run and you've already worked out in your head by some sort of magical calculation that by the time they catch up, you will still be a few inches short of the try line. Yes there were just those who could run faster from the day I first knew them and all the way through school and my sports career, even though I knew I was getting faster, unfortunately so were they and I never did catch them. It must have been in their genes.
But there's more than one way to pursue an opponent and sometimes stamina is more important than speed. I remember watching an old nature programme of a cheetah, that fastest of land animals, pursuing a gazelle-like animal. The big cat's initial speed almost brought it upon the deer, but a quick change of direction by the prey, temporarily put it off course and its initial advantage was gone. For the next few minutes the same thing happened each time the cheetah got close to its kill and after each effort, it was clear that what it had in terms of speed was not matched by its stamina. Eventually it lay exhausted in the shade and the deer waltzed off to safety, this time anyway. I guess the cheetah could have been doing with my dad as fitness coach. Anyway, for both animals it must have been in the genes.
The word pursuit is interesting for it conjures up not just following or chasing after but eventually catching and securing that which has been pursued. What are you pursuing in life? That's what a good friend was preaching about last night and as I thought about it, I wondered what I was pursuing in the hope of securing. I don't think I ever consciously pursued money, a good job, a nice house and family and a nice car but somehow through the years I have managed to be comfortable in my career and home life without ever being extravagant in either area. But I don't pursue things that money can give me for when all is stripped away, there's just me and nothing else. So I try to pursue a deeper faith in God and a better understanding of this wonderful and majestic being who, despite his power and intelligence, actually loves me enough to want me to be His son. Isn't that why Jesus told the parable of the Good Shepherd who had ninety nine safe sheep but still chose to pursue the one that was lost. And here's the beauty of that story. He kept searching until he found it. Isn't that what it's all about. God is calling for us and we are still hiding, but He won't give up until we answer His call. It's all a question of stamina and I wonder if it's in the genes???
