This post has been three years in the making.

NOTICE:
This is something I’ve been running through my mind since about 11th grade. That’s about 3 year’s time. I can honestly say that I’m not satisfied with it right now, because there’s so much more that I want to put into it, but don’t know how to do it. Maybe in the future I’ll be able to put together the version I have in my head. For the moment, however, this is what I have for right now…

Running is one of the greatest metaphors for the Christian life. The two are so alike that it cannot be a coincidence that the word run appears in the Bible 65 times. Both running and the Christian life require dedication, devotion, character, determination, preparation, assistance from others, and lots and lots of training. LOTS of training.

The greatest similarity between running and the Christian life is that they are both open to everyone. Some sports require equipment, pads, score sheets, officials, and specialized playing areas, but running requires nothing. No equipment, uniforms, playing fields, rulebooks or anything of the sort are need for running. Simply put, running requires nothing more than a desire and a will to run. Much by the same token is salvation, the entrance into the Christian life, available freely to all who seek it. The Bible says (Romans 10:13) “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Whosoever literally means just that: anyone. In John 3:16 we read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

In this aspect, as in all others, the Christian life is superior to running. Not quite everyone can run. Those who are physically too weak cannot run, but even the feeblest and most tender soul can be freely saved by Christ!

The Christian life requires no preset standard, no qualification, no application is needed. Just like running, it (Christian life) can be practiced anywhere, in a field, on a track, at home, or even in a busy city.

At first, a runner will start with easy, basic training until he or she is able to handle more intense training. I Corinthians 3:2 says, “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it….” Much like a new runner, a newly saved Christian will start with small training and learning until he or she is ready to step up to bigger things. A new runner could not be expected to run a marathon, and a newly saved Christian could not be expected to pastor a church!

However, as a runner trains more and more, he/she will become a stronger runner, and will be able to train harder, with more intensity, and for longer periods of time; much like a growing Christian will move from feeding on milk to feeding on meat.

The runner who trains once a week will always, always, always be beaten by the runner who trains daily. No matter what one’s base talent is, hard work will beat talent when talent doesn’t work hard. In the Christian life, the same concept applies. No matter how gifted one may be in an area, he or she will accomplish nothing without studying God’s word and spending time in prayer each and every day. II Timothy 2:15 tells us to, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God…” In the same book of the Bible, in chapter 3, we read that, ” All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” These are the things that will properly train a Christian to reach his or her full potential in Christ. Just as long hours spent on the track, or in the weight room will toughen and improve a runner, so will hours spent in God’s word and prayer bring a Christian to his/her full potential.

(In high school/ college, teammates and I spent up to 4 hours a day, five days a week making ourselves ready for a race that would last less than 60 seconds.)
Once a runner is trained and ready to race, he or she will enter into a contest. The 400 meter hurdle race is probably the greatest representation of the Christian life in all of track and field. Not only is it a grueling race, but it is the hardest race in track and field, bar none. It requires flawless technique, dedication, speed, blood, sweat, heart, endurance, guts and grit, and most importantly, a will made of iron sinews.

The Christian life is the same as this race in many, many ways. You only have one chance at life, one shot to do things right and after that, it’s over. James 4:14 says that ”…For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Much like life appears for only a little time, the 400m hurdle race is over in less than a minute, which is not a very long time. The race only takes one lap around the track to complete, and we only get one chance at life!

From experience with the 400 meter hurdles, I personally know the agony and pain the race can cause. The last 100 meters of the race can be tormenting beyond belief; every fiber in your body wants to quit, wants to stop, to give up, and is burning with pain. Where a mediocre runner would be content with a second or third place finish, a truly dedicated runner is always looking to win, no matter what the pain or agony. The Bible says in I Corinthians 9:24, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” We, as Christians are not commanded to be satisfied with second place, but rather to lead a victorious life full of God’s grace and glory. To win a race takes total sacrifice of one’s personal will. Christ Himself personally sacrificed His will for us, by dying on the cross to cover our sins. Through His sacrifice, we are able to be saved, totally and completely from our sins! Christ could have sacrificed less than his life, but no victory would have been obtained; it took Christ giving up His ENTIRE life for our sins to be forgiven.

After a race is finished and over, there is a victor, even if by the smallest of margins. Just as our lives will all eventually end. The difference between winning a race and coming in second can be less than .000001 seconds, but second place, no matter how close to first place, is still second place. In the same regard, the soul that almost trusted Christ as savior, though not fully, will still spend an eternity in hell. Races have been won by a period of time so short that the bare human eye cannot notice it. Even if only by a millionth of a second, the runner who finishes in first is the victor.

And so is the soul that fully trusts in Christ for salvation a winner. There is no “tie for first place” in life; a soul will either spend an eternity in heaven or hell; there is no middle ground!
After a race is over, there is always a victor: one runner who triumphs above all others. The victor will feel no pain, no agony, no burning, only an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, joy, and a surge of energy. This is why a runner can finish a race, and will have no energy left, having left everything on the track, yet are still able to take a victory lap, screaming in happiness and emotion.

Much like a Christian life might seem difficult and too much to handle at times, there is a reward at the end far beyond the glory of a single track race. The prize is so great that no human mind can truly fathom how amazing and beautiful it is. What reward could ever be this good? What reward could be worth all the trials Job suffered? What could make up for being thrown into a den with lions, or going to battle with a giant as an opponent? The answer is twofold, really. Not only will a soul which has accepted Christ as savior escape an eternity of torment in an eternally burning hell, but will also be able to spend an eternity with the Lord God. The same God who created the earth, the Christ who died on the cross for all the sins of the entire world are waiting for you in a place called Heaven, an eternal paradise void of sin and evils.

Logic would state that to obtain such a glorious prize as an eternal spot in heaven would require an extreme dedication and devotion to the things of God, and the things of a spiritual life. That only the most dignified and pious souls would be able to enter into heaven, and escape the eternal flames of hell.

However, on the contrary, anyone can enter into heaven. John 3:16 tells us that “…God so loved the WORLD.” He didn’t send His Son to die for just the USA, or just Asia, but the whole world. And herein is the most visible contrast between running and Christianity: Only a select few ever get a chance to be an elite runner, but the door to be a powerful Christian is open to all.