The Finish Line

The reasons runners run are as numerous and unique as the number of runners around the world. Some run because they have something to prove. Some run to impress others. Some run to beat others. Some run for a medal. Some run to prove to themselves that they can. Some run for the adrenaline, others run for the exercise. The reason I run depends on the day, the mood, and the pair of running shoes.

Runners are different. Each has his or her own gait, preferred course, running music, and favorite brand of running shoes.

But there is one constant for all runners.

The finish line.

In every race, whether a 5k, 10k, marathon, or ultra, there is always a finish line. Whether the course is certified or homemade – it ends at the finish line.

That last one hundred meters is the hardest, longest, most exhausting leg of the race. And yet it is also the most exhilarating, out of body, portion of the race. You are running on muscle memory and sheer determination, then you round the corner and there it is – the finish line. Exhaustion, doubts, thirst, pain – it all fades away. It is just you and the finish line. It pulls you with magnetic force. And then you are done.

My first experience crossing a finish line was at the end of half-marathon, on a broken foot. I hobbled across, barely moving at a pace that anyone would consider a run. But I finished. Ahead of me was a sixty-something-year-old man. His foot wasn’t broken, but he was not moving much faster than me. The last one hundred meters was uphill and seemed to last forever. I was in torment; the pain in my foot was radiating up my leg, making every muscle scream in agony. It was all I could do not to quit. Butout of nowhere the older man suddenly transformed: he took off running like an eighteen-year-old. He went from running a 10.5 minute mile to a 6.0 minute mile. It was phenomenal. He blazed across the finish line. I was dumbfounded. Still in serious pain, but I was blown away by his finish. I wanted his finish. I wanted to end like that. I wanted my race photos to be blurry because I was sprinting toward the end with all my might. I wanted my last steps of the race to be my best.

So I went home, rehabbed the foot, and started training for the end. Every week I alternate running a 5k, 10k, and half-marathon distance, with some hill-work thrown in. And every day, no matter how what the distance, I end in a sprint. I don’t just train to run the race; I train to end the race well.

Like runners, Christians are unique. They each have a favorite version of the Bible, a chosen denomination, a form of worship, a time of day to read the Bible. No Christian does Christianity in exactly the same way.

Even as Christians are different, Christ is the same. He saves everyone the same way. He loves each with the same unconditional love. He offers the same divine power. And He is preparing a place for each with Him when they finish the race of life.

Paul compares the Christian life to a race.
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Christianity is a race. It is an endurance race toward heaven.

The question is, how will you finish? When your race is done, will you limp across the finish line or will your last steps on earth be your best? Will you finish the Christian life with only your church members knowing of your salvation? Or will you finish having lived as holy a life as you can, knowing as much Scripture as possible, taking as many souls with you as possible? How will you finish?

Just like with racing, you can’t just pull an ending sprint out of thin air – you have to train for the finish you want.

If you want to finish well, practice that finish every day.

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I HAVE FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED THE RACE, I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:1-8