For the last 15 years or so, I’ve made the annual pilgrimage to the Daytona International Speedway for Rolex weekend. For hard-core road race fans, this is a bucket list type of event. The Rolex 24 is arguably the second most prestigious long distance race in the world, trailing only LeMans. And not that you were wondering, but I’ve seen that in person as well. Friday before the Rolex 24, the BMW Endurance Challenge is contested, a four hour race with cars from the GS and TCR IMSA classes. Now if you aren’t in the know, you haven’t the slightest idea what I’m talking about, a type of motorhead tongues with no interpretation. Interspersed throughout the long weekend are practice and autograph sessions, time spent in the garages, food, beverage, and manufacturers’ vendors galore, and a ton of great racing from multiple vantage points. So you are probably wondering why you didn’t go, much less why I am sitting in Starbucks pecking away at a keyboard. Come to think of it, I don’t know. The end.
Actually, there are other things that demand my time and attention this weekend. That, and I don’t know anybody else going this year. And, I’ll be at the drag races next Friday. A man much wiser than me once said, “You can’t spend every weekend at the races, you big dummy”. Nor would I want to. The thing about the times in which we live, I am still able to quasi-participate, even from a distance. Through the technological wonder that is the IMSA app, I saw a good chunk of yesterday’s race while sitting at my kitchen table. Not the same, I’ll grant you. But in a way, I did feel a part of it. I’ve also interacted via text and phone call (I always wondered what the Phone in iPhone meant), conversating with a few that were also interested in the race, those that have been.
Ministry or outreach (were you wondering how I would shoehorn a spiritual point in all this?) can be similar in some ways. Ideally, we would be obedient to respond to the Lord’s call to “Go” (Matt. 28:19, Isa. 6:8). When we can’t go past our own figurative Jesrusalem, we can certainly participate as we pray or give. And we never want to discount the importance of an encouraging or uplifting word to those that are closer to the frontlines of the mission field, either across the globe or across our own towns.
So I won’t be at the Rolex 24 this weekend, but I will be vicariously participating, by watching on TV or following on social media. I’ll feel a connectedness to the event. Maybe you aren’t a fan of watching fast, noisy cars drive rapidly from point A to B. You’re thing might be golf, or football, or spelunking. Consider the elements of participation in these activities. There is planning. There is an ordering of priorities. There is also sacrifice of time and resources. And there is a shared experience when coming together with likeminded men. Because the ramifications are much more significant, even eternal, we need to examine our own connectedness and participation in the Lord’s work. We all have a part to play, even if in a support capacity. See what’s going on in your church community, ask the Lord what He would have you to do, and pray, give, and maybe go. You matter in the Kingdom of God and its increase.