Life is a Marathon; Not a Sprint
1 Cor 9:26-27 “Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
The apostle Paul explained his life as a race or a fight where only the winner gets the prize. He wanted to bring his own body into subjection even beating his own desires down until they were black and blue leaving him the clear winner. The image is conveyed that his self denial had a purpose which was to attain the prize for which he was striving. As he told others about Jesus and eternal life he did not want himself to miss out on eternal life by being disqualified for it by his actions.
No one knows how many days of life they have been given. Children don’t care; they simply wake in the morning and live their lives to the fullest. Hours, days and weeks are meaningless to them because they live for right this minute. We could learn a valuable lesson from their attitude as we remember how life was for us when we were children. The cares and worries of this life can weigh us down but if we have childlike faith in God to take care of us we can then focus on simply living our own lives in the now; right this minute.
The way marathon racers win is by proper preparation. They train by running races against the clock and themselves. The way we also can win the marathon of our lives is by continually preparing ourselves by daily bible study which equips us to become mature and by putting our faith into practice. We should tell others our story of how we met Jesus and how he changed our lives. We should look for his vision and divine opportunities for explaining the kingdom of God to others. We need to put our faith in God into practice by loving others and using the spiritual gifts God has given us for edifying his church.
Many people wake in the morning with a feeling that they are behind and need to catch up. They spend their days running around at full speed until bedtime when they collapse from exhaustion. Instead we should pace ourselves and when we wake we should thank God for another day and seek to do his will for our lives. As we place our hope for the day as well as for our future in God’s hands he will renew our strength to continue doing well towards others.
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Christians sometimes become weary. There is so much oppositioss the finish line and he says: Matthew 25:23 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
Chuck Weiskircher