“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:24 ESV
I don't know anyone that has run a race that they didn't intend to finish. In fact, I can guarantee, that even when you were a kid, whether you ran track or a marathon or raced on the playground, you didn't start a race that you didn't intend to finish and win. Anyone can run a race. In life, millions start, but a very small percentage actually finish.
Paul tells me in 1st Corinthians 9:24, “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.” What he is saying here is that no race worth running is without the unexpected and you run it so that you can win the prize. The great thing about Jesus is that what causes us to fall as we run doesn't have to constitute failure. If we will offer the stumbles and missteps to God as an act of worship and learning, they will quickly become trophies of His grace and mercy in our lives as we continue to press on in our lives. They will be examples of perseverance for others that might be running along side of us.
Christ in us is the hope of glory and the reason that it matters not how we began the race but how we finished it. While we may gain "awards" here on earth, which are great in their own context, our true rewards don't come until we finish the race of life. It isn't until we stand before the Savior of the world that we will truly understand our impact and reach.
When we finish, we may have scars and our stride may show a bit of a limp but we are to remember that no warrior comes home from a battle without scars, whether they are visible or invisible, those that fight the battles God places us in, we will all have the scars that prove us faithful.
Paul says to Timothy in his letter, 2nd Timothy 4:7 that, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” And this is exactly what we all should hope to attain at the end of our lives. We are all called to run our race. The races we run may be different but the goal is the same and we are to run it to the finish. For it is in the running that we will eventually finish our race and earn an eternal victory and ultimately see His glory.
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