IGT

Running the Race

As a child and young adult, I was considered by many to be an exceptional athlete. There were very few sports that escaped my ability to excel to the highest of levels. As I grew ever older, I remained active and competed in several sports, even into my sixties – oftentimes winning over my youthful competition. An older friend once told me that he had to now overcome his young opponents, not by speed and strength but by cunning and treachery. I prefer to re-phrase his statement as wisdom, skill and endurance.

Growing up, my abilities seemed limitless. I was fast and strong. I could jump higher and farther than anyone and no one could match my quickness. In basketball, I could shoot very well. Yet, I was stupid, and my technique was all wrong. Sure, I was quick, but where was I going after I blew past my opponents? I could jump to the rim, but where did it get me? I felt as if I could run as fast as the wind. Yet, it was all for naught as I just wasn’t wise enough to use my gifts correctly. The problem was, I had not encountered and endured enough skilled opposition to build what I really needed – wisdom from being tried by fire. It wasn’t until I was truly tested over time, and endured, over and over failure, defeat and victory, that I became the best that I could be.

As I grew older and began to lose speed and strength, I compensated by practicing in a manner that improved techniques. I was not so focused on the immediate gratification of winning at all costs and getting it done quickly – whatever path taken. No, I found that it was more satisfying to be in a state of ever-learning and ever-improving. My eyes became increasingly more fixed on the goal ahead. My chosen path to it had become straighter by the day and my endurance improved with every year lived. I was physically weaker and slower but had become a much better athlete.

As much as we all enjoy competing and winning in this life, those races and trophies attained all pale in comparison to the real race to be won. Athlete or not, we all are running in this race toward a specific goal. Yet, which direction are you heading? There are only two. For Christians who are heading toward the goal that ushers you into the Kingdom of God, are you running with the endurance that is building faith and wisdom? Is your endurance increasing as you look unto Jesus who is the author and finisher of your faith? Are you becoming better capable of overcoming the pain and hardship of this life by fixing your eyes upon Him? Are you running the race well?

Jesus knew His Earthly life’s outcome from the beginning. He knew that He was to be mocked and brutally beaten; to be nailed to a cross as the ultimate and final sacrifice that paid the penalty for all of mankind’s sin. He was and is the … author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). Yet, even with the prior knowledge of the great suffering that He would endure, His joy that was set before him was to finish His race so that we could live with Him forever. He loved us so much that He had to endure the cross. So, then, what must we do to run the race well? We just merely need to put our trust and faith in Him and to … lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… (Hebrews 12:1,2).

Growing older as Christians, the strength of our faith comes through getting to know Jesus. We do this by the practice of studying God’s Word which builds our endurance to overcome the obstacles we will face in this life. We become wiser and stronger; in that it takes a lot more to move us from the rock upon which we stand. The path that we tread becomes ever straight and narrow, and easier to follow as we focus our eyes upon Him – the goal, the gate, the prize or better said - the gift. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

Which race are you running? Are you running with endurance fixing your eyes on a goal worth attaining or are you running in defeat, not regarding the price that was paid for your sin? In comparison to the span of eternity, this life is miniscule. Yet, what you choose here and now determines where you will spend the rest of – forever. Life never ends. You will live forever in one of two places, Heaven or Hell. Jesus spoke often about the horrors of Hell because He does not want even one person to end up there. He endured the cross to give us all the opportunity to repent; to turn away from sin; to ask for and receive forgiveness, so that He could give us the free gift of eternal life. Will you choose to receive it?

Start the race by:

1. Realizing and admitting that you are a sinner for the Bible says that: There is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10). For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

2. Believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised from the grave three days later: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

3. Call upon the name of the Lord: Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).

Your Decision to Receive Christ as Your Savior:

Confess to God that you are a sinner. Believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for your sins on the cross and was raised for your justification. Receive and confess Him as your personal Savior.

Assurance as a Believer:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9).

Run the race with confidence and endurance:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12: 1-2).

Win the Race:

Keep your eyes on the finish line and Jesus who is standing there ready to walk you into an eternity with Him in Heaven. Always remember, a life worth living is one that is a race of endurance and it oftentimes comes with its share of pain and hardships. But every runner knows that if he keeps his eyes fixed upon that goal, the joy that comes when crossing the finish line completely overtakes and overshadows all the pain previously felt. So, choose to endure to the end and claim Heaven as your reward.

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