The Spiritual Man's Obstacle CourseSample

11. The Finish Line (part 1)

Focus on the Finisher

“So, we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.”
– 2 Corinthians 4:18

Most running events also finish where they started. In a sense, it goes full circle. Our course starts and ends with the same person—Jesus. Like we said at the start of the course, Jesus is our initiator. He is the way, the truth, and the life. In Him is everything and without Him there can be nothing. Salvation is only to be found in Him.

Today, we are reminded in 2 Corinthians 4 that our finish is also in Christ alone. If we are to endure to the end as we should, our focus needs to remain on Jesus. Most people who drop out of a race do so when they lose sight of the end goal. Athletes who finish, despite not being able to physically see the finish line, can keep going as they have a vision on how they will complete their race. And when an athlete nears the end of his race and the finish line becomes clear once more, a final burst of energy comes forth driving the runner to reach his goal faster. This is usually referred to as the final kick or a sprint finish.

However, if the athletes can’t see themselves reaching the finish line anymore, it becomes easier to give up and drop out due to fatigue. Our sights should also remain firmly set on Jesus, our finisher who does a complete work. Despite fatigue we will still finish if our eyes are fixed on Jesus. Therefore, may our dropout rate become zero and our pass rate 100%!

Read 2 Corinthians 4 and reflect on the following:

• What’s your observation(s) from this reading?
• What’s your understanding of fixing your eyes on Jesus, your finisher?
• What’s your biggest obstacle in your own life to fixing your eyes on Jesus?
• What should you pray about after today’s reading?