CSAUP, May 13^th 2022 was an incredible 3 hour rucking workout planned by Brutus. This workout strengthened the bond I have with the F3 guys. There is something about an anticipated struggle which we know we are going to go through, and the men we persevere through with that bonds us closer than any 45 minute workout could do. Its events like these that end up being the lightbulb switch that change people, or the relationship threshold that brings it to the next level. And with that I am so glad I got to participate, execute and persevere alongside the 16 other men that morning and grow that bond with them.

About halfway through the workout we found ourselves on an elevated platform overlooking the beautiful sunrise that morning. Condernser was originally supposed to give a message but “graciously” handed the reigns over to me (Callahan) to give the message. I especially extend a thanks out to Condernser to allowing me to be a vessel in which the word of God can flow through. Thanks Condenser.

I wanted to tie in what we were experiencing in that given moment, both emotionally and physically, with the sacrifice Christ took for us. Sometimes when you are on the spot you miss details, or don’t say everything the best way possible so I want to provide here, a thought-out version of what I was intending to say…just in case I messed it up.

At that time on the platform looking at the sunset, we went through about 3 miles of rucking, a 5-10 minute Kotter leg workout, a 5-10 minute Chilipepper ab workout, and a 5-10 minute get wet and get sandy/uncomfortable Brutus workout.

Emotionally we were tired. We were sore. We were hurting. There may have been a sense of timelessness. We don’t know when its going to end or when the next break will be. Some may have felt like given up.

Physically we were sweaty and dirty and gross. Definitely not clean. We had this physical weight on our shoulders that was getting heavier and heavier. Also, more physical weight was added on throughout the walk (AKA weight plates, sandbags, weighted poles, etc). This weight was adding up and holding us back from getting to where we wanted to go as fast as we wanted to get there…and it sucked.

So far there were emotional and physical barriers, causing negative thoughts and feelings.

At the same time, we saw glory. We saw a beautiful sunrise that the creator of the Heavens and the Earth created. Glorious. We saw a beautiful body of water that people would travel all over the world to see. Glorious. We saw a man to our left and a man to our right that we trusted. Men that we could count on and they could count on us. The brotherhood is glorious.

So that leaves a question: How is it possible that both things could be true at once? How could we have struggles and afflictions while at the same time say that God is sovereign and glorious? How could a God that is sovereign allow terrible things to happen to me that were out of my control? How is it that there can be a mighty and powerful God, while at the same time prayers go un-answered and we feel stuck or alone through our challenges? How is it that there is a divine and graceful God while at the same time evil floods this Earth? Things like cancer, death of innocent children, human trafficking, famine, drugs and alcohol. How can good and evil occur at the same time, and if God is good, why doesn’t he just fix it?

I don’t have the answers, but I do know of a guy named Jesus. And I think we can start with him as the answer.

Ever since the first man touched ground, we have turned out back and sinned against God. We have disobeyed and ran from God time after time after time. Even the first man Adam, who saw the Glory of God at first hand, disobeyed God…and nothing has changed since.

God is Love and He is good. But he also gave us free will. And a large amount of the struggles and evil we face are due to the bad choice’s humans have made (including our own), disobeying God time and time again. The truth is, we don’t deserve his glory in the first place.

But God has a different plan for us. He loved us so much that he gave his son up for us. He still provided an option for us to re-gain our time with God in eternity, and all we have to do is believe. God sent his son in human flesh, who walked the same walk we all do. Jesus was filled with the same temptations we face. But He persevered. He left an example to live up to. Most importantly, he took the evil and the weight of all of our sins and took it to the grave. He took all the weight and sins we have on our back and buried them. All our shortcomings and pitfalls he took them with him in the grave. We don’t deserve any of Gods glory, but we still get to experience it today, and most importantly, we have a chance to witness it for eternity, and we can thank Jesus for that.

Death takes life and in return, it was death that had to be sacrificed in order to save us. God didn’t have to do that…But he did. He gave us Jesus who ended up giving us the greatest sacrifice. A brutal and disastrous death. But death so we have a chance to have life.

Now that is a sovereign, loving, kind, divine, mighty, powerful, and glorious God. He is good and always will be. He gave up his one and only son for us, so that we have chance to be in his presence for eternity. Jesus took the weight of our sins and took it to the grave. That is a HEAVY price. Heavier than any weight we think we could hold ourselves. Thank God He didn’t leave it up to us because we would screw it up just like we always have and always will.

God is good and he gave us the story of Jesus. This gives us purpose in life: to first, appreciate what he was done for us. The sacrifice He made for us matches no other and we need to appreciate that deeply. Next it gives a desire to seek a relationship with Him. We need to talk with Him and thank him. We need to put our trust in Him and our confidence in Him. We need to have a personal relationship with the guy who died for us. Lastly, we need to follow his example and strive to be Christ like. He showed us & taught us what to do and we owe it to him to make it a priority in our lives to put Christ as our center sight.