Finishing the Race

 Boston, MA

“Let’s go!” I said to my 10 year old daughter, “Let’s run!” She turned and gave me a confident smile and took off like a Tasmanian devil. I smiled at her vigor, her zeal and her persuasion of victory. She had every reason to outrun me! However, when it was all said and done, age won out over youth. I explained to her that winning the race has as much to do with pace as it does with velocity. Races are not judged by how you take off, but by how you finish.

Apparently, God feels the same as marathon organizers about this concept. He said, “But he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Matt. 10:22. In Hebrews 12:2 we find the definition of pace, “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” Many times we start out just like my daughter, motivated, full of good faith, energy and a determination to take off and fly. Society gives its accolades to the swift, the strong, the capable and the ones in the lead, and it is easy to lose our pace trying to achieve and maintain this ideal image. However, God is not looking to see who we are beating out today or our current record speed, rather He is concerned that we are keeping our eyes on His finish line and doing what it takes to cross it even if that means slowing down a bit to keep our pace. We live in a society (the Christian world being no exception) that is full of failing marriages, broken relationships, exhausted ministers, weakened bodies and frustrated purposes. Nobody wants to be the tortoise when Mr. Hare is taking the racing community by storm, but slow turtles and old moms conceal the wisdom of the ages: we must find the pace that will take us across the finish line because that is what really matters in the end.