God used the stars in the sky to direct wise men to Jesus. He used a baby in a manger to confirm to shepherds what an angel said to them. Jesus used fish caught in nets and the sea gone wild to speak to fishermen in a way they could understand and pay attention. He used wine at a wedding and farming parables to farmers to teach about who He is. For me, He often speaks, teaches parables, and confirms His word in the miles spent running.
Somewhere close to 30,000 runners are jammed in the street at 5am, ready to run 26.2 miles. The gun and fireworks go off; the running crowds begin to inch forward. The announcer is excited and encouraging and repeats one line of instruction weaved in all the many various words and lines of encouragement.
Don’t stop at the starting line. Here we go, it’s a beautiful day. Don’t stop at the starting line. Look at all the runners out here!! Don’t stop at the starting line. Thank you for coming out to run, have a great time. Look at everyone running at 5am on this day, the 50th anniversary of the Honolulu Marathon. Runners! Don’t stop at the starting line.
Does That Even Happen
Kyle and I looked at eachother puzzled, and wondered if that was a common problem. Why would people stop at the starting line? I suppose people cross the line and want to turn their watch on or take a selfie or do something that makes them stop at the starting line, and jams up the thousands of people trying to get across the same line and begin their race.
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed profound and a line worth repeating. Don’t stop at the starting line. In our faith; the race we all sign up for when we say “yes” to Jesus and believe in Him; it is tempting to stop at the starting line. We have a race to run and it will look different for every single person, even though we are all headed the same direction. It is a race we sign up for when we believe He is who He says He is, and we are who He says we are. We race against time and we fight against stopping at the starting line and every mile and distraction thereafter. What we do with our time as we move through life, in our body, with the breath we have been given, is the race we are running. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. If we stop at the starting line, to look down to check our watch or shoes or take a selfie, it causes a damaging ripple effect in the miles ahead of us and the people coming behind us.
Keep Moving Forward
Stopping at the starting line can easily happen when we are caught up in the celebration and appearance of our race and we end up stopping before we really get started. Once you push through the challenging start line and you make it a little ways, the running crowd begins to string out and thin out. You still have to keep moving forward and looking up or you will run into someone or be ran into. Every mile has its own challenges; but the runners settle into their pace and the wave of people becomes more like a stream.
Cool and Desperate Moments
There were a lot of cool and desperate moments and miles throughout the race. Towards the last miles, my legs felt like lead and I was begging God to give me the strength and energy to finish strong. I began to realize that prayer was once again a lesson in faith for me. The longer we run and train the older we get and the more miles we get on our joints. Running our race doesn’t get easier or more comfortable the longer we run, in the moment or in the long run. Each mile, each challenge and hill have to be run through, no matter how long we have been at it. It doesn’t get easier or more comfortable for people who have followed Jesus for a long time. They still have to run their race and go through the hills and valleys of life. Older knees and more experience account for added wisdom; those knees have probably pounded a lot of miles, but also knelt in a lot of prayers. Fresh legs and zeal can carry you a little ways, but the clock keeps ticking for young and old alike and fresh or lead legs both have to keep putting on foot in front of the other. Do not stop at the starting line and finish as strong as your body will let you while pouring out everything you have to give all along the way.
Give All You’ve Got
Philippians 2:17-18 But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way you should also be glad and rejoice with me.
All runners have different paces and running styles. At the end of the race; at the end of our lives, we want to have nothing left to give, leaving it all on the course of life. Sign up, show up, and make it across the finish line with nothing left is WINNING!
1 Corinthians 9:24 Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.
