Are You Still Running?

So, there is this race.

A 400m sprint. To win this race you have to follow the rules:

1) You have to run within your marked track. No shortcuts

2) To finish this race, you have to reach the finish line. If an athlete fails to reach the finish line, he gets no credit even if he ran faster than the winner. 

So how can you win this race??

• Follow the rules and try not to get disqualified (obviously)
• No matter what, reach the finish line. (because whether fast or slow, the whole point is to complete the race)
• Throw away and avoid anything that is going to slow you down or make you fall. (Tie your shoelaces, watch out for stones or ditches, wear comfortable clothes....)

These are the things you need to do ON track...

Ever imagined what has to be done OFF track?

• Daily exercises
• Good diet (all the obvious and very important things!)

Let us go one or two steps ahead and imagine this is the Olympics.. 

You are training for the ultimate 400m sprint in World history..

Now, what else will you do to make sure you will win?

• I know I would find myself a professional trainer (if i do not have one already)
• I would surround myself with people who are competing for similar races (you know, check out the competition!)
• I would Google the details of all those who have run this race before me in the previous years. People who won medals. People who lost. I would try and find all that there is to know about them - how they trained, what were the difficulties they faced, why they lost- everything. (I might even Youtube their previous races and watch every move they made on their most crucial day)

Can you think of some more ways to "get ahead of this game"?

Hebrews 12:1

"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 are all running a race, a spiritual one - where we look ahead to a finish line that is the Ultimate purpose of God in our lives of faith. Think about all those points we just discussed:

• Following all the race rules 
• Keeping our spiritual body fit with daily feeding from the Living Word of God
• Have good spiritual "Trainers" or Mentors who will guide you to do well
• Surround yourself with people running similar races like your own - Not so that you can be better than them, but so that you can always be encouraged to keep running.
• Learn about all those sprinters who have finished this race ahead of you.. because they form the great cloud of witnesses today who proved that God is eternally faithful, even when we are not. Read about their victories, their failures and how they overcame in the end from the Bible.
• Watch out for every obstacle or hindrance that might come in your way.. Throw away anything that will slow you down or make you fall..

At this point, let us wonder about ourselves..

How long has it been since I started this race? How many years since I began running? 

Am I still running the same race I started 10 or 15 years back? Or am I running another one now?

Am I still running?

I have a message for all those who are in this race..

For all those who have either stopped or slowed down..

"THE RACE IS NOT OVER YET"

Did you notice that the whole point in running this race is to reach the finish line? It's not about whether you came first or not. It is about whether you are still running this race.

Everyone starts out well.. Christian life and testimony all blessed to begin with. The joy of sitting in His presence so satisfying that nothing else matters. But over time, we slow down. We fall. If we choose to give up at this point, we will fail to reach the full purpose of Him who created us. There is no credit if you gave up on this race halfway through.

So, will we win this race, even if we fall?

Yes we will. As long you keep running and reach that finish line - YOU WILL WIN.

Let us consider the different hindrances and sins that affect us in this race, so that we can be more alert of what is happening around us today. All sins are hindrances but not all hindrances are sin. Actually, all hindrances might eventually lead to sin.

Our practical list of sins are easy to identify, like black and white - A few examples: Lying to superiors at work or lying to parents or children, cheating in exams or with money, stealing, envying people around us, coveting what they have, pride of being part of a good Christian family or heritage, - to round it all up - Lust of the flesh, Lust of the eyes and the Pride of life..  

These things are never going to get you to that Finish line.

What could the hindrances be? I came up with a list of my own - 

• A 'workaholic' attitude (being too busy to simply focus on a higher purpose in life or to look ahead to that finish line),
• Loving family or friends more than God Himself (so much that you change tracks and start running in directions that they want you to run, instead of what He has planned for you to do),
• Fear of death, sickness, failures (simply wondering if it will be all worth it in the end)...

I am sure with a lot of reflecting you can come up with some of your own too..

Now, what is the first reaction to tripping and falling in real life? 

Anyone who falls will always look around first to see if there were any witnesses to the embarrassing event. At least if the person is conscious and not in too much pain! Then comes the choice to whether get up from the ground or not..  

Even in our spiritual life, we do not want others to see or hear of our falls.

Our failures. Sometimes, we choose to pretend it never happened, even with God. 

Psalm 32:3-5  

"When I kept silent, my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy on me;

my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you

and did not cover up my iniquity.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”

And you forgave the guilt of my sin."

The joy of forgiveness can be experienced only in true confession that comes with a commitment not to continue in sin.

Psalm 32:1,2

"Blessed is the one

    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord does not count against them
    and in whose spirit is no deceit."

1 John 1:10

"If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us."

But read this verse that is more familiar to us:

1 John 1:9

" If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

God wants to forgive us. He offered His Son- Jesus Christ on that cross, to die instead of us just so that He could offer us pardon. He has forgiven every sin on that Calvary Cross so that He could have us for His own.

But if Christ has already forgiven us, then why should we keep confessing our sins to Him?

• Every time we confess, we "take sides with God", we recognize our sin as truly sin and we show that we are willing to turn away from it.
• With every confession we clear all the dark clouds of sin so that the Joy of being in the 'warm sunlight' presence of our God becomes more attractive to us. (Psalm 51:12 "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.")
• It helps us to recognize our tendency to sin and rely on more on His power to overcome it. Sinning is always a possibility for a child of God, not a necessity.

Let me encourage you with these words..

1 Corinthians 1:8-9 "He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

Philippians 1:6 "being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Our God is faithful, and He will always continue to be faithful.

"Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."

Hebrews 12:12-13

Let us get up from where we have fallen today. Let us strengthen our weak arms and legs so that we can run this race to the finish. 

The race is not over yet.

Keep running :)

#Martha