It was a couple of weeks ago that we were watching Planet Earth II on the BBC network. During this 8-part series, each week you were taken to a different part of the world and given a close up view on how those that inhabit a particular region such as oceans, the Arctic, the rain-forests etc.. survive in spite of the consequences they have been born in to. One week they may be showing you how Gecko's living in the Arabian dessert have to constantly lift alternating feet off the sand to keep them cool. You might flip over to find how Hyenas have learned that if they wait until nightfall, they can roam freely through the city streets of Harar, Ethiopia. One episode in particular stood out to me; the Grasslands.
The Grasslands are basically these areas all over the world that feature thousands of miles of rolling hills, large flat plains, all covered with grass and containing close to 500 different species of animals and birds. Long story short the narrator of this episode was telling the story of these baby antelopes. Tiny, frail, innocent, baby antelopes that you just wish you could have as a pet. The documentary showed these newborn antelopes having to learn how to walk within hours of waking up in this very strange and often scary new world. After showing a few scenes of the baby antelope standing on its' tiny wobbly little legs the narrator then makes the comment that within a matter of one or two days the antelope will not only be expected to walk beside their mothers, but will have to literally run for their lives. Antelope herds are always moving about and those that are left behind stand a good chance they will become food for the packs of coyotes that are always lurking just along the horizon looking for a meal.
Ghostly white with eyes that can see far off into the distance and fangs designed to chew through bone, the coyote is built for one thing and one thing only, kill and eat. When they see a baby antelope that has fallen behind, the coyotes immediately break into action. It was in this documentary that they showed (I'm assuming by a drone operated camera) the chase scene as this baby antelope which had barely been alive more than 36 hours takes off towards the rest of the herd as fast as it can. The narrator then tells you that young antelopes can only run about 30 mph which is considerably slow compared to the top speed of the coyote which is 45 mph. As the scene moves forward you see it all about to play out. The antelope running across the plain, the coyote gaining ground getting closer and closer. It doesn't take too long before the gap between them shortens and the coyote can just about make a dive for the antelopes legs....and then something begins to happen. The distance between them starts getting larger. The coyote begins to slow down a bit. And you think "What happened? What did the antelope do to survive what was certainly about to be a quick end?" That's when you hear the voice of the narrator say "Thankfully the coyote can only run so fast for so long, while the antelope can maintain it's speed for much longer and much further" The antelope didn't have to run faster...it simply had to run just fast enough and long enough to escape the coyote. Tired of the chase, looking for easier pray; the coyote gives up and turns its attention somewhere else.
As Christians we spend a lot of time talking about the path to Heaven. We teach about the miracles Jesus preformed and the ultimate sacrifice of his life on the cross. It's easy to find on any given Sunday a sermon on the importance of repentance or the value of a life lived through Christ....but what we may not hear as much...what we may not take the time to focus on as often...is that just like the antelope, we have coyotes of our own that we must out run. We have our own race to win and it's not about how fast we get to the finish line or how many times we've dodged the Devil's attempts to trap us before. While our long term goal should be getting to Heaven, our short term goal should be not slowing down and becoming easy prey.
Now not everyone knows where they are running to. As Christians we have the gift of knowing what lays ahead at the end of this path. Like the baby antelope we know that just up ahead there's a home waiting with a glorious Father standing arms spread wide. Not everyone has that luxury. We all know people (and there may be some in here tonight), that have seen that devil closing in on them and they are running as fast they can...but they are caught in a trap and don't realize it. That wolf over their shoulder has them scared and because of that, they keep making the wrong choices and taking the wrong turns and pretty soon they headed towards a lake of fire with very few choices left.
I mentioned a moment ago that we have the luxury of knowing that a life lived following Jesus and Father God will lead us to a place of eternal peace. We don't have to run faster than that wolf, that Devil, we just gotta run longer....but knowing what's at the end of a path, doesn't mean you're going to make it there. It takes time, endurance; you can't stop praying for a month or stop reading your Bible because it doesn't entertain you like the internet. Yes you can have a bad day. It's natural to have moments of doubt and to struggle with everything that life throws at you but don't spend too much time catching your breath and don't be surprised if you don't look back and see that Devil just about to take a bite. If you are struggling, keep running. There are people that want to help you win this race. Whether it be this moment or midnight; don't wait, don't hesitate...don't let the coyotes get any closer than they already are.
