THE RACE IS NOT OVER UNTIL YOU CROSS THE FINISH LINE

 1 Corinthians 9:24

    Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

                Now that the weather has gotten hotter, I have been doing my daily running in the morning. One of the advantages of running in the morning, other than it being cooler, is that I have the trail pretty much to myself. There is nothing to distract me, so I have the time to think while I run. There comes a time in every run where I just want to stop and walk the rest of the way. This usually happens when I have about a ¼ mile left to go. The other day, as I hit that point, the thought came into my mind that the race is not over until you cross the finish line.

                No one would applaud a marathon runner who runs 25 miles and then stops one mile short of the goal. Yet many people do something similar to that. They live an active life for 40, 50, 60 years, then for some reason they leave the race. They decide to check out early and just walk the rest of the way.

                Ever since I retired from active ministry and we moved to Michigan I have been struggling with what retirement should look like. God allowed me to have 38 years of active fruitful ministry. I have had the privilege to serve in three churches in three different roles. I was an associate pastor for 5 years, a senior pastor for 31 years, and an interim pastor for 2 years. The big question for me is what is next? How do I keep running the race until I cross the finish line? I am not there yet, so what does God want me to do now?

                One of the key themes in the New Testament is perseverance. The Apostle Paul stressed how important it is to not stop short of the finish line.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

                 If Paul was concerned about not stopping short of the goal, maybe we should be as well. If anyone had the right to take it easy and coast, it was Paul. Just listen to all that he had to endure along the way.

Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? (2 Corinthians 11:24-29)

                In the face of all of this you would think that Paul deserved to find a condo by the sea and live out the rest of his life in peace. But that was not Paul’s thinking. Instead, Paul kept his eyes on the finish line at all times. Earlier in his letter the to Corinthians he wrote this.

    Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

                Most people today will live between 20 to 30 years after they “retire”. Some have called this period in our lives our second adulthood. It will be a time with more freedom and the opportunity to do things that we could not earlier in life. It is not a time to coast. It is a time to invest in eternity. The accumulated years of experience, and hopefully wisdom, are now an awesome resource. God wants to use us, just as He used Paul, right up to our finish line.

                Wherever you are in this race of life, you have not yet crossed the finish line. I know the temptation to coast is strong. Our world constantly bombards us with the message that it is our right to spend our time in leisure. But God has another plan for you and for me. He wants to use us for His glory right up to our last breath. The race is not over until we cross the finish line.

Hebrews 12:1-3

    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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.