Run the race

EARLIER this month, we saw the retirement of Sir Mo Farah. What a runner and what a fantastic race career including 10 Gold medals and 2 Silver medals against global opposition, as well as a host of other European medals. Arguably the best modern era British 10k and 5k athlete ever seen and British athletics will miss him tremendously.

What a legend, an example to try and emulate, for all those young up and coming British track (and field) athletes.

In the same way the apostle Paul lived in a culture and time when athletics was one of the most popular sports of his generation. Imagine if there’d been T.V. then! In the Bible Paul uses athletics as a picture of life and refers to it as a race.

Paul saw life for the Christian as a race. In Hebrews 12:1 he notes: “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.”

We can’t just turn up at the track and expect to finish let alone win unless we’ve done some serious training for a long time before.

1 Corinthians 9:25: “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

The Christian Hope is not just about a daily relationship with God in this transient life, but one which assures us of being with Him for all eternity. Even Gold medals can’t compete with that.

Paul says in Galatians 9:25 “Since we live by The Spirit, let us keep in step with The Spirit.”

This is so that, at the finish line, we may echo

Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:7- 8: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness...”