Life is a race that we all must run. Whether we like it or not it is something that we have to do. Its life and we all must live it. But how do we run this race? Do we run it with endurance? Do we run it knowing that it is a race that we must finish? 1 Corinthians 9:24 “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” We often hear in sports about “being a finisher.” There have been many quotes and inspirational speeches about being a finisher. We can defiantly apply this to our Christian lives. We, as Christians, must be finishers. Christ came to set an example for us that we may follow in his footsteps. One thing, of many, that we can take from Jesus’ life on this earth was that he was a finisher. Even in the Garden Of Gethsemane when he prayed that if any way possible could this cup pass from him, he still went on to finish the will of his father. We must be finishers as we run the race known as life. We see people around us daily who burn out and fall short of the finish line. This reminds me of the bible character Agrippa when he spoke to Paul after Paul had given him his testimony. Acts 26:28 “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Almost? Too often we use this word almost. What is almost? Is it a maybe, or kind of, or I think so? Almost is falling short of heaven. It doesn’t matter how close you are or how great you have been; almost is not enough. So how do we live our lives? Do we live like finishing truly is everything? Or are we happy with almost? If we are then we are headed in the wrong direction. Sure we will stumble along the way. No one said the race was an easy one. When we fall we must pick ourselves back up and continue to run. It is not how we start the race, but it is how we finish. Ecclesiastes 9:11 “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to me of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” We must run the race with patience. Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us…” It is a marathon, not a sprint. We can’t just take off full speed and run out of gas before cross the finish line. Endurance is the key in the spiritual race that we run every day. And as we run we must help those along the way. We must get them to steady their pace so that they can finish the race with us. We, as a Christian people, should be trying to help as many people finish this race as we can. For once we reach the finish line we will rejoice and realize that the race was defiantly worth running.
“It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.” –John Wooden
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