Focusing on the Finish Line
One of my favorite scriptures is the one where Paul, fixing to face the guillotine, says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”. I want to focus on the “I have finished the race” part.
I am a sprinter, both literally and spiritually.
When I played sports, I did not have a great amount of ability.
I was not very big, not very strong, but one thing I was blessed
with…I could run fast. And
that’s what I did…I ran fast. I
ran fast on the football field, on the basketball court, and on the tennis
court. Coach tried to get me to
run track, but that was during tennis season, and I loved tennis.
But I really don’t recall ever competing against someone who could
out run me. You see, a guy can run
pretty fast when he’s scared! It’s
hard to catch a rabbit that is running for his life.
We are also in a spiritual race. Shireen,
my wife, has reminded me on several occasions that life is a marathon, not a
sprint. She knows about the great
temptation I have to sprint. The
only problem is that sprinters become tired very quickly and it’s
unreasonable to think that a sprinter can run for a very long period of time.
A distance runner must pace himself so he can finish the race.
As Christians, we are reminded that the ultimate goal is to finish the race
that God has put before us. It’s
not how fast we move, it’s that we move toward the finish line God has
called us to. We don’t compete
against anyone else, and Satan has a thousand obstacles in our way to
discourage us. But we “press on
toward the goal Christ has put before us.”
As you probably know, the mile run is four laps around the track.
I have run it many times. The
first lap is no problem. You’re
fresh and energetic and ready to run. The
second lap is not as fun, but you still have the energy to tolerate it.
But then the lap I dread the most…the infamous third lap.
The problem with the third lap is that you’re getting tired but you
know you still have another lap to go. I’ve
seen it a thousand miles as a coach. A
player slows down many times, but no matter what he does, he still has that
other lap ahead of him. He begins
to doubt. It can get discouraging
and if your gonna quit, the third lap is where it will happen.
Why not the fourth lap? After
all, this is when you will be the most exhausted.
The answer? Because on the
fourth lap, you can see the finish line. In
fact, it’s not unusual to run stronger the closer you get to the finish.
You find something you didn’t know you had.
Somehow you know you can make it if you can see the end.
As we run our spiritual race, there will be trials and tribulations.
There will be times when we tire and maybe want to quit and give up.
But if we keep our eyes on Christ, if we focus on Him, we will finish
the race.
To be sure, Satan will try to distract us.
He knows if we take our eyes off Jesus, we will falter.
But be assured that Christ will not let us down if we stay the course.
He will give us the strength to run the race…He will be with us along
the way…He will be waiting at the finish.
My prayer for you and I is that one day we will, like Paul, be able to
say with joy, “I have finished the race!”
Thanks be to God!