This morning I watched a video of a young man I know running a 3200 meter race. His family filmed it and put it on Facebook. The race was run on a 440 track so they had to circle the track multiple times to finish the 3200 meters.
At the finish line of each lap I wondered, "is this the end?" They all looked tired, but they kept going! Once more they came to the finish and kept going. And again. I was getting tired just watching the video as it seemed they circled this track 20 times. Finally, the finish, and my young friend won the race.
If he hadn't trained multiple miles, if he hadn't prepared for months he could have never finished this race. It demanded preparation, training and an eye on the prize....the finish line.
They crossed the finish line multiple times. I'm sure my young friend thought, "soon, this will be over, soon I will cross the finish line one last time and the race will be over."
The Christian life, the life of following Christ, is much like my friends marathon. It takes training, persistence and an eye on the finish. If you aren't looking ahead to the finish you could never keep going. You would never have the endurance to keep going.
Like my friend, my walk with God is a marathon towards a goal- the prize waiting for me at the finish line. The challenge for me, as I grow older, is to lay aside those hinderences that hold me back and continue the race, keeping my eyes on the finish. Because you see, I won't cross my finish line until I finish this life.
Oh to finish well, to cross the finish line with hands raised in celebration of a race well run, with eyes on Jesus who ran this race and won his event. May I imitate him as I run my marathon.
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