Run The Race! by Rusty McKie

This past weekend I ran a half-marathon in Nashville with my Father and brother-in-law.  I do not tell you this to boast in my accomplishments, but I do share this to say:  Endurance is stinkin’ hard! Thus, I find it fitting that God portrays the Christian life as a marathon.  (Note: I think every Christian who is able should do some type of long-distance running to better understand this illustration!)  Check out the following verses:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize?  So run that you may obtain it.  -1 Corinthians 9:24

You were running well.  Who hindered you from obeying the truth?  -Galatians 5:7

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…. -Hebrews 12:1-2

Endurance is absolutely essential to the Christian life, but it is so difficult to maintain.  This means that becoming a Christian does not make life easier, but actually makes it harder!  Living for God means sometimes experiencing the pain of the race; endurance is our only hope of finishing well.

To all those who are barely hanging on to their faith, God’s Word says, “Press on.”  To all those who are fighting to believe the gospel, God’s Word says, “Keep running!”  You may feel as though your weak faith is testifying against you and saying that you are not a Christian; however, it is a testimony to the truth that you are still running.  Endurance is painfully hard.

This is why Paul says, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:13-14).  We must press on, brothers and sisters.  Though the road is long and the race is consuming, we must continue running, no matter how hard it becomes, encouraging one another all along the way.

The best news of all is this: perseverance is a direct result of God’s preservation of His children.  God’s grace reaches out to us from start to finish in this race to uphold, support, and carry us through.

Are you tired, Christian?  Endure!  Run the race set before you-not by your own strength, but by the grace God gives you through Christ Jesus!  Surely, He will energize every step to bring us home to Him.