“You take over. I’m about to die, my life an offering on God’s altar. This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—God’s applause! Depend on it, he’s an honest judge. He’ll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8 The Message)
This fall I played soccer for the Eastbrook Academy Middle School Team. From the very first practice, our coach had us running for long periods of time. He said an average High School soccer player runs about seven miles each game! He wanted us to build up our endurance and speed so that when the other teams got tired we would still be running hard.
During some of our matches, we saw this in action! Our players would be dribbling the ball at speed down the field and the other team’s defenders would be panting and struggling. This season was our best season ever—we went 2-1-2 and I think the fact we could still run hard when we needed to at the end of the game was a big part of that.
The verses for today are saying we want to run the race of our life hard, all the way to the end. “This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—God’s applause!”
I’m pretty young and have a long life ahead of me, but Paul is saying the only thing worth doing for the rest of my life is following God.
There are a lot of things I like to do; play on the iPad, read books, build with Legos. But loving God and learning about Him are the only things that will last for eternity!
For Reflection:
- What do you think it takes to “run the race of faith” till the end?
- Are the things you have focused your attention on that have kept you from fulling seeking God? Repent of these and refocus your heart on what matters to God the most!
- Work this week on memorizing 2 Timothy 4:7-8.
by Landon Caler
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