Run the Race

This past week was the District Track Meets for the Panthers. That included the junior high, junior varsity, and varsity. As always, all of our students competed hard and we saw a lot of success. For our oldest daughter, that included becoming the JV district champion in the 4x100 relay and the 800 meter run. And had the weather not canceled the 4x400 meter relay, they would have been the district champion in that race as well. I can make that prediction with complete confidence, not out of bias or love for my daughter, but because they would have been the only school competing in that race. In fact, they were the only school that ran in the 4x100 relay and the 800 meter run. It might be the most embarrassing moment in my daughter’s sports career up till now. She is one of the most anti-center-of-attention people you will ever meet. So, the fact that she had to run two laps around the track, by herself, with everyone watching, was mortifying to her. Running a relay with three other girls was hard enough, but the race by herself was extremely difficult for her. So, I’m just as proud, if not more proud, of her as I would have been had she had actually raced other schools and beaten them.
However, that still means that my daughter, and her friends, are district champions in those races. And you can’t take that away from them, even though they didn’t have to beat anyone to achieve it. But here’s the key, they still had to run the race. They couldn’t just claim to be champions, if they didn’t do it. It wasn’t their fault that none of the other schools chose to put athletes in those events. Our girls trained for the races, showed up and ran them. And in this instance, they didn’t have to beat another school, or finish in a certain amount of time. They just had to run their races and finish.

Consider these three passages:

• I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. – 2 Timothy 4:7
• …let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…. – Hebrews 12:1-2
• Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. – James 1:12

Do those passages say anything about beating anyone to the finish line? Or running the fastest or being the strongest? No. Essentially, they say, just show up and do it. There’s no competition against anyone else. You are called to do what is set before you. To live the life that God has called you to live, without comparing it to other people. Obviously, we want to do it well, using our God-given abilities in a way that glorifies Him. But there’s no competition. Jesus has already eliminated the competition, but we still have to run the race. It's about faithfulness. It will be difficult and maybe not very much fun at times, but the Lord, and your fellow believers, are always there to encourage you and support you.

Keep the faith. Remain steadfast under trial. Finish the race. Receive the crown of life.

-Kendall Harris