The Marathon Called Life
I am not a runner. I HATE exercise. It takes every ounce of my being to simply take a walk around my neighborhood to make sure my back doesn’t hurt the next day. There are a handful of people in my immediate circle that I know can’t live without it. I wish I could understand, but…I don’t and likely can’t. While I’m not a fitness buff, there is a different kind of muscle I do enjoy giving a good work out – my faith muscle.
I know, it’s a cringy analogy. But! I needed a way to transition into this verse:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).
I most certainly have never run a marathon, and I can’t say I’d feel super comfortable with people gawking at me as I waddled along huffing and puffing. But it recently dawned on me that life is like a race. While I’m in no hurry to reach the finish line just yet, I know it’s nice to have people on the sidelines that cheer you on as you hustle toward the next checkpoint. Just as they are there to lift your spirits, you’re probably one of their mental cheerleaders in turn.
We are always “surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.” Parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, coworkers, mentors, and more all play a supporting role in our lives. While we may be raised to live one way, it’s the people who we interact with that shape us into who we become later in life. The same can be said of us in relation to those same people. Every action has a reaction, and our actions are being watched. Not only by God but by those who may choose to live as we do. We can lead these “witnesses” to Christ by how we run our race.
I’m not graceful by any means, but I am nothing if not perseverant. I make mistakes. I’m not perfect by any stretch. But I try to live my life in such a way that God, my family, and I can be proud of. We are given life for a reason. Mankind is always in such a frantic search for that reason. What if, to continue the race analogy, we aren’t running for a “best time,” but for a number of lives touched? What if our purpose in life is to simply…do our best to live like Christ?
When you think of someone who has “won the first-place medal” in this race called life, who comes to mind? For me, it’s my boyfriend’s mother, Susie. She passed away in 2020, and I was asked to read this verse at her celebration of life: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Susie went through a lot in the last few years of her life – but she did it with her head held high and a fearlessness I don’t think I could ever muster. She was the epitome of a woman of God. I don’t think I ever heard her say a bad word about anyone. She never forgot a birthday, anniversary, or even the dreaded college final exam season (and always had a snack bag ready to help you get through it). She encouraged others with a smile, even though I now know how hard that must have been for her near the end.
The next time you feel like giving up, conjure up an image of your brother or sister in Christ who is fighting the fight and keeping the faith to inspire you. As they say, “not all heroes wear capes.” We aren’t superhuman, but “the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). We weren’t built to quit; we were built to take up our cross and follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24).
