Run The Race

Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Hebrews 12:1

Running marathons is a popular activity. You may have heard of the Honolulu Marathon in Honolulu, Hawaii; the Bank of America Marathon in Chicago, Illinois; the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts; and the Walt Disney World Marathon in Orlando, Florida. Marathon runners push themselves to prove they can run 26 miles and successfully cross the finish line. In order to do that, they must stay motivated, train for months, and take care of their bodies. Failing to do any of those things will make the trek to the finish line harder or even impossible.

What does a marathon have to do with you, God’s princess? The author of Hebrews compares the Christian life to a race. You’ve probably run a race on field day at school, but those races are different because they are usually short distances like 50 yards or 100 yards. For short runs, you sprint, or run as fast as you can, over a short distance. In a marathon you must pace yourself to make sure you don’t run out of energy before you hit the finish line.

The Christian life is more like a marathon than a sprint. It starts the day you give Jesus your life, and it lasts until you go home to heaven. That’s more than just a spiritual sprint. It’s a long-distance run, so it’s important to allow God to build you up daily and prepare you for what’s ahead. You can do that by reading some of the Bible each day. You can listen carefully in Sunday school and church and pick out at least one thing that you can use during the coming week in your spiritual marathon. You may want to read a Christian book such as a missionary’s biography or a book about living for Jesus.

It’s also important when you run to get rid of extra weight. Running a marathon is not the time to wear ankle weights. Running the Christian race is much easier without the weight of sins like anger, jealousy, gossip, or dishonesty. Ditch those weights so they don’t drag you down.

Ask God to prepare you for the spiritual marathon you’re on. Take time to build yourself up spiritually through the Bible and church so you’ll finish strong.

Ask a friend, parent, or sibling to run a mile with you this week. As you run, talk about how the Christian life is like a marathon.