Stamina versus Endurance

"Stamina is short-term longevity; endurance is long-term longevity."

Such was (slightly embellished) a noteworthy quote I overheard last quarter during finals week, early in the morning. I believe it was a Tuesday, and I believe I was studying for Greek. In any case, I was sitting in the park, watching the dew glisten and dance in the rising sun when a couple of guys walked past me and sat down on a bench to my right and began the conversation that I am quoting. They were holding a short devotional, reading Scripture and discussing its practical impact on their lives, using metaphors to relate Scriptural truth to workout schedules. I think you'll see where I'm going with this.

Much like running, in order to build up spiritual stamina and spiritual endurance one must simply do the exercises and disciplines one wishes to improve. Unfortunately, we don't work as awesomely as Barney Stinson of How I Met Your Mother. We can't up and run a marathon without countless hours of preparation and experience.

Our spiritual life in Christ is a marathon, not a sprint. Yet there are times when short-term endurance is necessary. Praying for 1 hour straight? That's certainly not long-term. Fasting is another example of short-term efforts to deny self and grow closer and more dependent on our rising Son, whose words are sweeter than honey. Yet another short-term activity is "random EV," or random evangelism, where we are certainly not often to find a long-term friendship.

I ran cross-country for a year, and sprints in track-and-field (as well as long jump and high jump, which both require bursting energy--stamina), so I have at least a couple years of experience in these fields to base this analogy on. Though it is vital to train (spiritually) for the long run (as many years as God gives us to serve the enhancement and growth of His kingdom and the church), even "distance runners" train their stamina to be able to sprint. Much like the "on-fire" aspect of the "mountaintop" experience many Christians find as their love for Christ buds in conversion, a long-distance runner sprints the first 10 seconds or so of his race, not based off his total energy, but because of the adrenaline boost provided by the gunshot. But that's not the full extent of a cross-country runner's stamina. Whenever an opponent begins to attempt to overtake (shout-out to my European friends!) the runner, he tries to prevent being "passed up" by running faster. I know the metaphor breaks down here, because we (as Christians) do not compete with each other for jewels in our crowns. Yet even the apostle Paul uses competitiveness to drive his point home:

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? 
Run in such a way that you may win. 
I Corinthians 9:24


Now, Paul was referring to the self-control of the body in order to be the best spiritual "athlete" (or maybe competitor is a better word?), just as Michael Phelps carefully would monitor his workouts, his diet, his posture, his health, and his qualification. Olympic athletes do all things for the sake of their sport, so that they may become fellow partakers in the glory of the competition, and they compete to win.

I [Paul] do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.
I Corinthians 9:23


Thoughts to think about, friend.