Skipping Leg Day
Some years ago, I knew a group of bodybuilders. A number of them were involved in elite combat forces. These people trained five to seven hours daily, six days a week. Each day, they trained a different part of their bodies. There was a day to train legs, chest, and back, arms, and I don't remember the exact order. Every muscle group was trained thoroughly and effectively, and every tiny muscle was as hard as a cable. Leg days were the most unpopular. Those days were marked by infinite amounts of squats and lunges, followed by sprinting and jumping. Because leg day was so hard, many men came to the gym with a strong upper body, looking impressive, but had legs like chickens. They were the laughingstock of the rest. Their legs were thin, untrained, and totally out of proportion with the rest of their bodies. Everyone knew they wanted to look imposing on the world but did not want to do the hard work. Therefore, many skipped leg days.
The problem with skipping leg day was that it was clear that the person wanted to look strong to the eye but was not invested in the true comprehensive strength of the whole body. They had a heavy upper body full of muscle but only chicken legs to carry it. Not only did it look funny, but it was a signal that the person was not truly as strong as he made himself out to be.
Skipping leg day is what many Christians do. This is a massive problem in evangelical Christianity. People may have a great knowledge of God and theories about how life is supposed to work. They know how to say the right things. They know how to appear religious, even strong spiritually. But for many, the spiritual foundation that is not as visible yet necessary to carry the entire self is as skinny as chicken legs. There is no spiritual training, no discipline in getting stronger in the things of God. We know how to appear religious, but an untrained foundation carries us.
God talks about the importance of not skipping leg days. Isaiah 35:3 tells us to watch against feeble knees. We must watch against them because feeble knees have no strength to carry us. Thus, we need to strengthen our legs. And also, the statue in Daniel 2 was mighty big and strong. His head, shoulders, and all were imposing; his head and chest, visible to the world, were of Gold and silver and bronze, valuable and strong metals. The lower body was less valuable, iron, and then iron and clay. Someone said the image starts with clay and ends with dirt! Clay is very brittle. Then, when a rock rolled down the mountain, it hit the lower parts, and everything that looked imposing to people fell and crumbled.
We need Jesus' legs. Jesus' legs, the Bible says, are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. Massively strong, Song of Salomon says. And in Revelation, Jesus' feet are like fine brass. Brass is a very strong, bendable, but unbreakable material.
If you are a Christian, your relationship with Jesus is much more important than what people see. Because Jesus needs to be your legs, that relationship must be cultivated. It involves discipline and training, including what people don't see. Whatever people see is of no value if you skip leg day. We may talk the talk and appear religious, but a stone will roll down and break whatever religion is in you.
Build your life upon Jesus. He is a firm foundation. Because his legs are the legs, we want to have. Good words and actions have little value to Jesus if a relationship with him does not undergird them. The Bible says that in the last days, people will say: "but Jesus have we not done this and said this… but Jesus will say to many that they did not have him as a foundation. "I never knew you." Do not underestimate the value of your legs. Physically and spiritually. Let's make our religion a relationship again. That is how we change the world, truly. Impact the world.