I'm happy (or embarrassed. I'm not exactly sure which) to announce that my wife and I have finished watching all 31 seasons of the amazing race. All told, we watched around 341 episodes of the show. Each show (without commercials) was about 40 minutes. That equates to about 13,640 minutes or 227 1/2 hours. Yikes!
When I think about all the time we spent watching, I'm sure we could have done a lot of other things. Nevertheless, I did try to at least learn some things from the show and over the past three months I've outlined some of the lessons I've learned.
Here's a recap:
Nobody is Good at Everything (so it's good to have a team)
Not Everything is Amazing (but life is Amazing!)
The Joy of Now
Match People with Skills (It's about working together)
For my last lesson, I'm going to refer to something Phil (the host) says at the beginning of the race. I don't remember if this is something he has said since Season 1 or not but I remember hearing it in most of the first season episodes.
After the teams are introduced and they are all poised to start the race he tells them, "The world is waiting..." I don't know if "The Amazing Race" is so popular in other countries that saying the WORLD is waiting is true, but I know that I am waiting and so are millions of other Americans. I'm not sure if the world is waiting for the amazing race. However, I do believe the world is waiting for something.
One of the hardest questions to answer seems simple . When I ask people "What do you want?" or "What do you want to happen?" they, at first, give an answer which seems like a good answer. After reflecting, they realize their first answer wasn't their best answer. On further reflection, they realize they really want something different, something deeper.
Sometimes what we say we want ends up being just a reflection of some deeper desire. We may say that we want our spouse to listen to us, or encourage us, or pay attention to us when what we really want is deeper connections and intimacy. We say we want something to be solved at work but we may really want a sense of peace in our place of employment. Maybe what we really want is a sense of peace in our lives!
My point is this: The world may say they know what they want or what they are waiting for, but I'm not sure of the world really knows.
For most of his life, St. Augustine believed he knew what he wanted. However, after he encountered Jesus, he realized, he was really waiting for him. He was waiting for Jesus and didn't even know it! Later he prayed, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee..."
The world, like St. Augustine, has a restless heart. St. Augustine, among others, discovered that Jesus brings rest to restless hearts.
John tells us that God loved the world so much that he sent his Son into the world so that those who believe would never die. At the deepest level, the world is waiting for Jesus. The world is waiting and searching for life, but doesn't realize that life and rest comes through Jesus. They are waiting for him and don't even know it. I sure didn't know I was waiting for Jesus until after I encountered Jesus. Then I knew I was waiting for him the whole time. He was what my heart most deeply desired, yet I was unaware.
Paul asked the question, "How can they know if they don't hear? How can they hear unless someone tells them? (Romans 10:4)" That's a great question. How can the world know if no one is telling them? How can the world know about life in Jesus if we don't tell them and show them?
Phil told the Amazing race teams that the world was waiting. I believe he is right. The world is waiting. Perhaps the world is really waiting for us to let them know about the wonderful Jesus we have encountered and are coming to know.
I must say I was concerned as to the number of hours you watched the show, but in the end what you got from all the time was well spent. Thanks for sharing what you got from the show.
The World Is Waiting!
I'm happy (or embarrassed. I'm not exactly sure which) to announce that my wife and I have finished watching all 31 seasons of the amazing race. All told, we watched around 341 episodes of the show. Each show (without commercials) was about 40 minutes. That equates to about 13,640 minutes or 227 1/2 hours. Yikes!
When I think about all the time we spent watching, I'm sure we could have done a lot of other things. Nevertheless, I did try to at least learn some things from the show and over the past three months I've outlined some of the lessons I've learned.
Here's a recap:
For my last lesson, I'm going to refer to something Phil (the host) says at the beginning of the race. I don't remember if this is something he has said since Season 1 or not but I remember hearing it in most of the first season episodes.
After the teams are introduced and they are all poised to start the race he tells them, "The world is waiting..." I don't know if "The Amazing Race" is so popular in other countries that saying the WORLD is waiting is true, but I know that I am waiting and so are millions of other Americans. I'm not sure if the world is waiting for the amazing race. However, I do believe the world is waiting for something.
One of the hardest questions to answer seems simple . When I ask people "What do you want?" or "What do you want to happen?" they, at first, give an answer which seems like a good answer. After reflecting, they realize their first answer wasn't their best answer. On further reflection, they realize they really want something different, something deeper.
Sometimes what we say we want ends up being just a reflection of some deeper desire. We may say that we want our spouse to listen to us, or encourage us, or pay attention to us when what we really want is deeper connections and intimacy. We say we want something to be solved at work but we may really want a sense of peace in our place of employment. Maybe what we really want is a sense of peace in our lives!
My point is this: The world may say they know what they want or what they are waiting for, but I'm not sure of the world really knows.
For most of his life, St. Augustine believed he knew what he wanted. However, after he encountered Jesus, he realized, he was really waiting for him. He was waiting for Jesus and didn't even know it! Later he prayed, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee..."
The world, like St. Augustine, has a restless heart. St. Augustine, among others, discovered that Jesus brings rest to restless hearts.
John tells us that God loved the world so much that he sent his Son into the world so that those who believe would never die. At the deepest level, the world is waiting for Jesus. The world is waiting and searching for life, but doesn't realize that life and rest comes through Jesus. They are waiting for him and don't even know it. I sure didn't know I was waiting for Jesus until after I encountered Jesus. Then I knew I was waiting for him the whole time. He was what my heart most deeply desired, yet I was unaware.
Paul asked the question, "How can they know if they don't hear? How can they hear unless someone tells them? (Romans 10:4)" That's a great question. How can the world know if no one is telling them? How can the world know about life in Jesus if we don't tell them and show them?
Phil told the Amazing race teams that the world was waiting. I believe he is right. The world is waiting. Perhaps the world is really waiting for us to let them know about the wonderful Jesus we have encountered and are coming to know.
May you share your Jesus encounters with others!
Peace, David.