Keep On Running
There is a stadium. Runners are on the track at the starting line and the stands are full of cheering fans.
At the beginning of the race, all the runners are energetic, fresh, and ready for the task ahead.
But this race is a long one. Soon the heat of the day and the length of the run begin to wear on the runners. Some of them become discouraged and fall behind the others.
They have a long way to go and feel they cannot hang on. They are tempted to quit, to turn from the track, and to walk away from the contest.
Then the sound of the cheering fans breaks through their doubt. These particular fans hold great credibility for the runners: the onlookers have run this very race themselves.
They endured to the end and now sit in the stands as a testament to those still running.
The fans wave and encourage the runners to look to the finish line. There in the distance, a figure stands, tall and welcoming.
He is clothed in white and his face shines brighter than the sun.
The runners and the fans know who this is. He is the “author and perfecter of [their] faith” (Heb. 12:2).
Seeing him at the finish line in all his glory further inspires the runners to keep going.
They know that they have suffered so little in comparison to the race he had to run. And he ran it on their behalf.
They run full of understanding and gratitude. Though their race is difficult, they are assured victory if they just don’t quit.
If they focus on Jesus and remain faithful to him, ever running toward him, they, too, will be victorious.
We are the runners, those still alive here on earth who are called to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
There is a gallery of runners that encourages us to keep on the path that follows Jesus.
We can look to them and be empowered to persevere, even when our own race seems to be all uphill.
We are not running in the dark. The light of Jesus helps us stay on track and the knowledge that the ranks of heaven applaud us stirs us on.
We can remember believers who have gone before, endured hardships, and now receive the reward of heaven. They did not turn away from God when life on this earth was difficult.
I remember one always-smiling saint, Charlie. It seemed that he led a charmed life. But his life had been touched deeply by grief, including the murder of his daughter.
His explanation for his smile, even though life was painful, was that he “stayed under the spout where the blessings come out.”
Charlie is in heaven now. Remembering his faith through fire gives me encouragement that we will be able to endure life’s trials as well.
Father, when we are energized and encouraged our race seems easy, but when we tire and stumble it seems very long indeed.
Help us to hear from heaven the throngs of those who have gone before us, and may their spiritual victories spur us on to crossing our own finish line.