To win a race or competition, you only have to run or swim and score harder, faster, or more points than the person next to you. Sometimes, it’s a close call. A few seconds or inches make all the difference in the world. Have you ever thought, “If they only had a little more time, then the outcome could have been different?” But that’s not how it works. Once the time expires or the finish line is crossed, it’s finished.
We are blessed that Christianity is not this way. Sure, we run a race set before us (Hebrews 12:1-2). But the race we run is not a competition between the others we are running with. Christianity is not a competition. It’s a battle, and the enemy is Satan (Ephesians 6:10-18).
When we run this race, we want everyone we are running with to win. The goal is that we all win and finish. We might finish at different times. Some go before us and some are still behind but we hope the outcome is the same for everyone; we want everyone to complete the race because the prize is well worth it and available to everyone. The prize it eternal life with Christ. The apostle Paul states, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14). He goes on to say, we should all have this attitude (verses 15), and he says for us to join in on following his example. We should run this race the way that Paul and others who were before us did.
This is a great source of joy for us. We are not competing against each other, but we are all running together, and the goal is to finish together. Let’s get moving, make progress, and achieve our goal.
For the Lord,
Alex Mills