Run your race
Martha Olawale
“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.” Hebrews 12:1-2a
I really love the Olympics and sprint is my favorite game to watch. I love the intensity and excitement leading up to crossing the finish line. Like the other games, it requires endurance and an extreme level of focus because a little mistake can cause the runner a high price of Olympic medals.
The demand on the runners can seem unfair sometimes because after four years of constant practice, if they miss the whistle by a microsecond, they can be disqualified from running in the Olympic race. Moments leading to the start of the race require all the runners’ senses to be alert and ready to run at the moment the whistle goes off. There is no room for error and I’m guessing that all they can think of in the few seconds before the whistle blows is avoiding a false start.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:26, “I do not run like someone running aimlessly.” The Christian journey is a race, not a stroll along the park. Just because we have crossed the line of salvation does not mean we lose focus of where we are headed. There is a goal set before us and until we get to Heaven, it requires a full focus on Christ to help us reach the finish line gloriously. While the Christian race is not to outwit one another, it’s important for us to remember we are running for a higher calling.
Many of us are entangled in other peoples’ races instead of focusing on ours. We lose sight of the finish line, looking sideways and backward at things that should not concern us. We’d rather criticize others for stumbling than take the time to make sure we don’t stumble too. And, instead of lending a helping hand to those who need it, we crisscross other lanes to trip others, forgetting for whom we run—Christ.
If Paul, a man whose life was an embodiment of God’s grace, thought it necessary to remind himself of the need to focus on His calling, how much more, we. There is just too much to lose if we miss the mark and so much to gain if we run the race right. Unless to encourage and help those who are finding it difficult to continue, there is no time to chat or condemn others along the way.
Christ wants us to succeed, and He left us an example of Himself. He was laser-focused on His mission and even when they thought He was going to ‘magically’ end the Roman rule, He knew His journey would lead Him to the cross at the hands of those He came to save. Yet, regardless of all the pain that came with that, He did not lose sight of what He knew He had to do for us to be reconciled to God. Run your race because the success of many is tied to it.
