100 Days of HopeSample

Secrets Of The Race

The Bible contains a wealth of vivid word pictures. These earthly analogies help us discover spiritual realities. Given the current popularity of 5K runs, marathons, and other races, this running metaphor seems especially timely. There are so many parallels. People who get into running find it exhilarating. They eagerly and faithfully train. It makes them healthier. They develop strong friendships with other runners. All these benefits are also true as we run our race of faith.

This passage in Hebrews stresses the importance of endurance over speed or being at the front of the pack. In the spiritual world, endurance is valued above all else. Yet, consider this, nearly three thousand people are mentioned in the Bible. Among them, there are far more poor examples than good. In fact, only about one-third of them finished their “race” strong. Of those who failed, most did so in the last half of life. For those of us who have been “running with Jesus” for many years this is an especially cautionary fact. Triumph only comes from crossing the finish line.

The running metaphor is central to another interesting comment in Galatians 5:7: “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” In sports, some players are rough. They shove and trip others; they don’t play fair. Life is also like that at times. Still, great runners just focus on the finish line regardless. Go for the prize. Run for the finish.

Prayer: Father, help us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Give us the strength to set aside distractions and to finish strong.