The 5K
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." Acts 20:24 This morning, I awoke very early on a national holiday to watch my son Zach participate in his second 5k race. Since I am not a runner, I decided to watch and take mental notes about how runners prepare for a race. I soon realized that I have a lot to learn. We arrived at the venue 25 minutes before the race started. Most runners arrive at least an hour before. Since Zach was coming off of an injury from football, I had a feeling that this would not be his best race. My last words to him before the race were, "finish well". Zach said, " I just want to finish." There were other people in this race that I personally knew were dedicated runners. Many times on my way home from work, I see them running, rain or shine. There was one lady in the race who called herself a "closet runner". I am not sure if this was her first race, but I could tell she was prepared. She had the sweetest smile on her face. I could tell she enjoyed running. If I ever decide to take up running, I would like to run with her. I decided that I was going to keep an eye on her to see how she finished. As the first group of runners approached the finish line, the dedicated runners and the closet runner, with a smile on her face, were in that group. The closet runner came in second in her age group. Zach came in a little later. The Bible speaks many times about running a race and how to finish well. We must be dedicated runners in our spiritual race. When we run, we want to have joy in our hearts that spills out like that of the closet runner so that others will join us in this race. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7
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