He Ran The Iditarod

Jordan's a friend of mine who lives up along the Yukon River in central Alaska. He's a sled dog musher and invited me to his place to check out his team. Pointing to his lead dog, he proudly commented, "He ran the Iditarod." Wow, now that's a canine compliment!!

You see, the Iditarod is the Everest of dog races. Snaking along 998 miles of tundra, forest, mountain passes, frozen rivers and sea ice, the trail follows the old (modified) freight run to Nome, Alaska. The Iditarod race commemorates the 1925 medical (dogsled) run carrying lifesaving diphtheria serum to that community. It's become the most recognized and prestigious dog sled race on Earth!

I should've taken a selfie with that dog! In my mind, he had instantly morphed from being just another "boiled-fish-eating" barker (His name was Cal) to something much more! This was no ordinary harness dog. Why? Because he had run the Iditarod!!

What's the biggest thing that you and I want to pour our lives into? When others look at who or what we are, what do we want them to see? Both in this lifetime and when our earthly existence comes to an end, what do we want to be known for?

As we consider what God's Word articulates regarding His design for us, we find that we all have a purpose here. The heart of that mission is to represent our Lord Jesus. If we are to be known or recognized for our function or accomplishments, it needs to be in that context.

That Yukon River lead dog was in an elite category that relatively few canines ever attain-an Iditarod competitor! For you and I, as we aspire to whatever's in our "hopes, dreams and visions" wellspring, those aspirations need to flow from our position as a representative of Jesus!