The finish line is an amazing place. You’ve got family and friends waiting to cheer you on the last few steps. You’ve got strangers you are cheering for you. You’ve got finishers who were ahead of you cheering for you. And as you cross the finish line, the announcer will announce to everyone who you are and you’ve finished a marathon! When you become a finisher, you receive your medal which is called the finisher medal. There are people there waiting to drape it around your neck right after you cross the finish line. It is proof that you’ve done all the hard work and run all the miles (both that day and before) to achieve this accomplishment. 🏅🏅🏅
And what’s really amazing about marathons is while the elite runners will win cash and set records that’s not really who the fans are there for and that’s not really who the race is for… the marathon is for everyone. Everyone is a winner if the complete the race. There is no lack of celebration for you if you finish later or in the middle or early – everyone is celebrated. Why? Because you’ve just done something incredibly difficult – something not even 1% of the world population does – you’ve run 26.2 miles.
Paul tells us when we reach the end of our spiritual marathon God will give us our crown of righteousness. And not just to the “elite runners” like Paul or Peter or John but to ALL those who loved the Lord and ran His race.
So, we’ve reached the end of our studies on running our spiritual marathon. To end, let’s hit the highlight reel:
👟 If we want to run in God’s race, you must follow His rules and His course map.
👟When we run we need to run with the purpose of finishing and not be lackadaisical about why or how we’re running.
👟 As we’re running, we must keep eyes forward. Don’t look behind you and don’t get distracted by looking to the left or right. Focus on Jesus.
👟 We are never truly running alone – God is with us each step of the way.
👟 God will provide us all the aid and support we need along the race – we’ve just got to be willing to stop and use it.
👟 We need to run with the right running group. The wrong group will destroy your race.
👟 Running this race requires self disciple and endurance.
👟 Trials and challenges help build our endurance for future struggles along our race.
👟 You can finish this race and you can finish it with joy.
🏅God will reward you – all who cross His finish line will receive their finisher medal.
I love running. It is not just physically beneficial but also mentally and emotionally. After I ran my marathon, I really understood better all the marathon running references Paul uses to describe our spiritual journey.
The road is long and hard. The race doesn’t just belong to the swift but to all those who endure the miles. And those who cross the finish line will be cheered on by all the saints who have already finished and by our Lord Jesus. God is standing just on the other side of that line waiting to give us our finisher medal.
Lace up your shoes and cross the starting line. Put one foot in front of the other each day. Run and don’t give up. Endure until the end. The finish line is waiting for you. #runningtherace👟🏅👟🏅👟🏅
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