What’s At the Finish Line
We all have our gifts. Marathon running is NOT one of mine. I’ve always admired people who could run long distances with poise and perseverance. There’s something so inspiring about a person moving across land in repetitive motion, one foot in front of the other, heart pumping, muscles steadily straining toward the finish line.
There are a bunch of connections we could draw between running a race and living life. In fact, the apostle Paul highlights this in a letter to the Corinthian church. He challenges first-century disciples of Christ to live out their new faith with the same intensity and endurance as competitive runners.
“Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 1:9).
In other words, train hard. Run with purpose. Push ahead like you know the finish line exists, even when you can’t see it. He expresses a similar sentiment in a letter to the Christians in Rome. He names exactly what the finish line is for them and for us: the sharing of God’s glory (Romans 5:2). What does he mean? He’s referring to the perfection and beauty that our souls were created for. In eternity, there will be no more loss, no more pain, no more striving and failing. There will only be beauty, goodness, peace -- everything our hearts long for wrapped up in the face of our Creator. Glory.
Paul motivates his readers to push against the resistance of life by appealing to our deepest longings for rest and perfection.
Don’t we all need some rest? Are you like me, hungry for peace with yourself and peace with God? Stillness of the soul. Imagine! One day we’ll no longer experience the exhaustion that overtakes us this side of heaven. We won’t have to wrestle with unwanted emotions. We won’t have to force a smile while inwardly suffering.
This race is worth what’s waiting for us at the finish line. Glory. So, let’s inhale peace. Let’s smile. After all, we’re standing in a place of undeserved privilege because of Jesus. We can run today’s race -- hurdles and all! -- with confidence and joy because we know what’s at the finish line and we won’t be disappointed.
“Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. ”