Running the Race

The cannon goes off; the race begins.

The apostle Paul often likened his journey in Christ to a footrace.

In Philippians 3:14 (NIV) he says: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

There are many similarities between a footrace and living for Christ.

Like in a race, we need to train to live for Jesus.

Like in a race, practicing living for Jesus takes time.

Like in a race, it’s tiring and exhausting.

Like in a race, it’s worth it in the end.

You could say the same about writing. The only difference is that the glory of winning the race for Jesus endures a million times longer than the meagre “glory” of crossing the finish line first.

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Hebrews 12:1b-2 (NIV)

Everyone has goals.

As a Christian, I want my finish line to be glorifying God and spreading His message in everything I do. My deepest desire is to hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But I’m young. I’ve got so much ahead of me, so many mistakes to make as I run the race.

Not everyone has the same goal.

A while back my youth pastor discussed this very subject of finish lines and goals. He gave us a list of potential objectives that teenagers have. Do any of these resonate with you? (If you’re not a teen, replace these with goals of your own.)

• Getting your first job/promotion
• Buying a car
• Graduating from high school
• Getting accepted into college
• Moving out
• Dating/getting married

These are just a few examples.

And while there’s nothing wrong with wanting to achieve any of those goals – in fact, many of them are great ones – there is a catch. My pastor’s next words struck me:

“If we can reach our ultimate finish line on this side of eternity, it’s not the right ultimate finish line.”

Those words have stayed with me ever since. Yes, there are lots of things we can accomplish on this earth. Good things. But when we make those things our ultimate finish line, we’re going to wind up disappointed.

We need to know what our true goal should be.

Because if there’s something that you’ve been hoping for with all your heart, and it’s on this side of eternity…sad to say, you’re bound for disappointment.

You’ll find that when you reach that finish line, it wasn’t all you had hoped for. That it was merely another step, followed by another, and another, forever. Eventually the steps run out. But that’s not because you made it to the end. It’s because the clock on your life expired.

The Rope.

A mind-blowing way to think of this is to picture your existence as a rope. If you’ve never seen Francis Chan‘s groundbreaking video on the subject, here’s the link to it: Francis Chan – Rope Illustration. Please, I’d highly encourage you to watch it. I kid you not, the video will change you forever.

If your lifespan was illustrated by a rope, can you guess what part of that rope would be marked by your time on earth? About an inch. Everything else – the hundreds and hundreds of feet beyond that – would be eternity. And what’s so crazy is that what you do in the “inch” impacts everything else.

If you live with your own goals in mind for 80 years, you’ll live for the devil for 80 million and more. If you live with Jesus’ goals in mind for 80 years, you’ll live with Him for 80 million and beyond.

It seems so simple, yet many can’t seem to see it.

What is your objective?

Is it something earthly, or something eternal? Yes, I know it’s hard, and that everyone on earth lives for the inch. But we’ve been given a race to run, a lane to be in. Will you stay in that lane and run for Jesus, or will you live for the world? It will be challenging, but the rewards are so worth it.

What will your ultimate finish line be?