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Imagine you are in a race.
You don't remember the starting gun, you just know that you are running, running, running.
All around you people jostle. Some surge ahead, some get left behind. Others drop exhausted by the roadside.
Sometimes it feels great. There are people around you, encouraging you, cheering you on. The wind in your hair and the sun on your face are truly beautiful.
At other times your legs move like lead. The sky is grey, your body hurts. Every step is painful, each breath is agony. And you're surrounded by people who look the same. Some of them won't make the next mile marker. You know it. But you can't stop. You've got to keep going.
There are rumours about the finishing line, where it is, and what lies beyond it. What the prize is. Some say there is no end—that when you cross the finish line, you just have to start again. Others that this is just a training event for another race. Others that the whole thing is just a sick joke. But no one really knows.
And the worst thing is that it seems to be unfair. Some people are running in all the latest kit - brand new Nike Air trainers or trendy Converse boots. Others are barefoot and bleeding. Some people are being pushed in wheelchairs, others are carrying babies and children with no-one to help.
And worst of all the judges seem to be corrupt. Some of your fellow athletes were disqualified early on for no reason other than that they were a bit different. Others are given all the help they needed for no reason other than they looked good, or had more cash in their pockets.
But you've just got to keep running, running, running. That's what you do. You can't let it get you down, or you'll stop. And you know that there is a finish line somewhere...
Does this sound familiar? No need to imagine. This is a race you’re already in. It’s the human race…
Where's the finish line?
It's remarkable that we go through life with so little thought about the finish line. True, there is a huge amount to enjoy, and many distractions as well. For some of us competing is what makes the race so enjoyable, as we pull ahead of one group, and set our sights to join the next.
And certainly a life well lived is something for us all to aim for. To have good relationships, to achieve our potential, to leave the world better than when we entered it in some small way.
But what if there was a bigger picture. What if there was a prize to be won or lost. What if there were a fair and careful judge that would look at everything we have done and rule us in, or disqualify us after all the effort we have put in?
Listen to this story by someone that has been described as the world's greatest teacher:
“The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops’.
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Jesus from The Gospel of Luke chapter 12 verses 16-21
Jesus is warning us that there is more to life than getting ahead in the race. He says that we can be successful, wealthy, happy, contented in life—but still be a fool in God's eyes. You may think you are a winner, in many ways. But how terrible if, as you cross the finish line, the referee looks at you with deep sadness and declares: “loser.”
What's the prize?
There was a man called Saul who had “winner” written all over him. He had everything—the family background, brains, ability, the training, the passion, the energy. But God brought him to the realisation that he was running in the wrong race for the wrong reasons. He was persecuting people who followed Jesus Christ, because he thought they were fools.
But then Jesus met him and showed him that he could never win the real race. All his breeding and training and hard work counted for nothing in the real race. Because the prize could only be received as a gift from God.
And what is the prize? Saul’s experience on the Damascus road changed him completely. He changed his name to Paul and became one of followers of Christ he had so hated before. He understood that through the death and resurrection of Jesus, forgiveness for all that was past is possible. He discovered that Jesus not only ran the race perfectly, but is now the strength and help for those who run the race, the judge of those all who compete, and the prize waiting at the end for those who love him.
If life feels like a pointless marathon, why not take time to check out what else Paul and many others have discovered. That there is a point to the race. That the teaching and character of Jesus stand the test of honest scrutiny. That God offers each of us a fresh start that leads to the most brilliant prize of all.
This is the text of an (as yet) unpublished tract I wrote in preparation for the Olympics - feel free to "like it", repost it or copy use it however you want over the next few weeks of Sports-mad euphoria.
Tim Thornborough is the founder and Publishing Director of The Good Book Company. He is series editor of Explore Bible-reading notes, the author of The Very Best Bible Stories series, and has contributed to many books published by The Good Book Company and others. Tim is married to Kathy, and they have three adult daughters.
