Hitting the Wall 2
I really don’t know how I ended up training to be a long distance runner. I had been impressed with John Landy - the first Australian, and the second person ever - to break the 4 minute barrier in running the mile in 1954. And who can forget the eccentric training methods of Percy Cerutty - making poor Herb Elliott Elliott run up and down all those sand dunes at Portsea in Victoria? Well it paid off didn’t it - because Herb broke the world records for the mile and 1500 meters in 1958 and 1960. Maybe I wanted to follow in the steps of these great athletes, or was it perhaps I got sick of a certain boy in my Grade 12 class boasting to the girls all the time about the fact that he was the greatest, and that he was going to win the school’s annual marathon?
Well whatever the reason, I found myself training after finishing work on the farm and before sitting down to do my homework. I would run 5 miles on the dirt roads around our farm and do half an hour of exercises before having my dinner and doing my homework. If you have never experienced long distance running, you don’t know the feeling of “hitting the wall” - when your body screams to stop and give up, while your mind says “No way - I’ve got to keep going!” Yes it is really a case of the mind over the body. You give it everything, and in a hard fought race, you don’t remember the last few hundred meters. All you see are the people urging you on, and hearing their shouts of encouragement. And then you collapse over the finishing line. And yes I did beat “Mr loud-mouth”, taking first place in the marathon and in the mile, and no I did not break the 4 minute barrier, missing out by 10 seconds! Yes, every race is pretty amazing. All the athletes explode with raw power and there is such an intense drive, where they give their everything to win the race.
So should we all! Let’s take a look at the original “long distance Jesus-man runner” - Paul. He relates his experience in 2 Timothy 4. Here he is writing some of his final words, in his final letter before he made the final sacrifice for Jesus. He will soon die for his allegiance to Christ. Here's what he wrote: "I am already being poured out...I have finished the race" (verses 6-7). When you have been poured out - it's empty; there's nothing left. Paul is in fact saying: "In running the long distance race of life, I have given my all. And now, nearing the finish line, I have nothing left.” And that’s the way it should be with us.
The Bible likens our life here on earth to a “race”. Not a “jog”, not a “walking contest” but a “race” to the finish line. Are you running with that kind of intensity in the long distance race of life that God has set before you? The thing is, that unlike a set course with a clear indication of the finishing line - 1500 meters, or 10,000 meters or the 40 km marathon, we don't know how much longer we have before we get to the finish line. That's why we've got to run with everything we've got - right now and every day.
I had a very sneaky coach. During the lunch break at High School, while everyone ate and had fun, I would train. This particular day my coach said: “Instead of running four laps today (1 mile), I want you to give it all you can in only running three laps.” And so I quickened my pace and gave it my all right from the start, knowing I was only running 3/4 mile instead of the full mile. Had I been a bit smarter and not as trusting, I would have woken up to what my coach was doing. Yes, you are right. At the end of three laps - just before the finishing line - my coach yelled: “Don’t stop. Now do the fourth lap! Come one, give it all you’ve got.” Talk about being cruel to dumb animals! Well I did give it my all. Every muscle, ligament and joint screamed at me “Stop, don’t do it!” but I did do it! And clocked the fastest mile I had ever run.
And that’s how we should run our Christian life. Each day should be run as if it’s our last. And then not breaking stride, give it our all the next day as well, and the next, and the next.... Yes, we're talking about giving it our all, not just a casual, go-to-church, take-it-easy, business-as-usual style of Christianity. There are no days to waste, no opportunities we can afford to miss. We must resist the temptation to say, “There’s always another day.” We must never say "maybe later" when it comes to living for Christ. Christ gave His all for us by dying on the Cross. What He did for us didn’t stop with Him being jeered at and made fun of; it didn’t stop with Him being whipped! No, the Lord Jesus went all the way to die on the Cross to pay the penalty for our sin, to set us free from guilt and judgment, and so guarantee eternal life to all who believe in Christ and love Him. And if we truly love Christ, how can we not give our all to Him?
I think it's time to make the prayer of Moses our prayer: "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). Loosely translated that means: “Give it all you’ve got.. Make every day count." That's what it means to love Christ, to give it our all until we reach the finish line. Randy Alcorn said, "Thirty seconds after we die, we will know how we should have lived." A little late then. How about getting that figured out now instead of when it's too late? Let us love Christ first and foremost. Run each day as if it’s your last. And then not breaking stride, give it your all the next day as well, and the next, and the next.... Yes, we're talking about giving it our all. Your finish line is Jesus. And, you know, His "well done" is really the only prize that matters. Grace and peace.....