Monday, January 24, 2011

It’s Never Too Late to Start Exercising in God’s Gymnasium

Most of you don’t know who Jack LaLanne is. He was my parents’ generation’s fitness guru, whose workout show was a TV staple for three decades, beginning in the 1950’s. Long before diet and exercise became the national obsession it is today, Jack LaLanne was telling his audiences to trim down, eat well and pump iron! Though he exercised every day of his life, even Jack couldn't last forever. He died yesterday of pneumonia. Jack was 96.

A statement most representative of his philosophy of life, Jack LaLanne said: “The only way you can hurt the body is not use it. Inactivity is the killer. And remember, it’s never too late.”

Reading how Jack LaLanne devoted his entire life to bodily discipline, I was immediately reminded of Paul’s words to young Timothy: “Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness; physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next” (1 Timothy 4:7b-8, NLT). Paralleling Jack’s words, we might say: "The only way you can hurt your spirit is not to use it. Inactivity is the killer. And remember, it’s never too late to start exercising [in God’s gymnasium]."

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