The Race of Life

By: Melanie Moore

I'll be the first to admit that I am not a runner. At best, I am a mediocre jogger who inconsistently hops on the treadmill for a casual, air-conditioned walk/run trot at a leisurely pace while watching my favorite shows on TV. I don't take running very seriously to say the least.

However, if a pack of wild dogs was chasing me.... suddenly, I'd taking running much more seriously.

I think life is like that sometimes. We casually coast along our lives in auto-pilot mode, letting life happen and casually watching the days click by on the calendar. Each second passes, and we barely notice. We may be too busy with all of our responsibilities to consider how we're running the race of life, or maybe the race we're running is so difficult that we turn to other things to numb how we're feeling.

In the past couple of months, I've had the sobering opportunity to sit by the bedside of two mighty saints of God who were just hours from leaving their earthly bodies and running home to be with Jesus in Heaven. I keep thinking about their races, and how they were faithful with each step. I have seen their lives lived with such intention that it motivates me to think about how I'm running the race of life.

At the finish life is no time to decide what type of life we want to live. We have to start now, wherever we are in our race, and look toward the finish line. What kind of race do we want to run? How will we plan to meet challenges when they come? What do we want others to say when we cross the finish line of life? 

We can run the race of life with intention by focusing on Christ, loving God and loving others, and clinging tightly to the steadfast hope we have in Christ even in the midst of life's trials. As we run, we can pray that God will strengthen us -- physically to nurture our bodies, mentally to have the mind of Christ, and spiritually to see His hand at work all around us. Even when we stumble, we can confess our sins to God who faithfully forgives us our sins.

How are you running today? Are you running with intention or casually coasting through the treadmill run of life? Please don't wait until the end of the race to start thinking about your run. Join me in starting today to consider how we treat this race of life so that when we get to the finish line, we can hear God say "Well done, good and faithful servant."