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Sunnybank District Baptist Church's official blog.
Run the Race
Devotions
Various members of the SDBC community who share their insights into the passages
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"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." 2 Tim 4:8 (NIV)
The Olympic marathon race is 42.195km long. After 41 long hard kilometres, the runners must be physically exhausted and on the verge of collapse, But they keep going, Why? Because they can now see the finish line. The last portion of the race is inside the main Olympic stadium and when they first enter the stadium, the cheers of the crowd must be a huge boost to help them reach the finish line.
The runner reaches the finish line. He has done it, he has won! All that is left to do now is receive his reward for victory.
The Christian life is similar to a marathon. To be even allowed to start the race we must first qualify. Qualifying is done by asking God to forgive our sins through Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross. It is not possible to enter the race because of anything we have done on our own; it is only the blood of Jesus that allows us to even start.
But what kind of race do Christians run? Christians run a race of Godly living, in faithful response to what God has done for us on the Cross. In earlier chapters of 2 Timothy, we see Paul encouraging Timothy with ways to follow his Godly example.
Now that our race has started, our lives are similar to the marathon runner. During the race the runner experiences many emotions as fatigue and tiredness sets in. But the prize at the finish line motives them to keep running and persevering till the end.
What helps give you the strength and willpower to continue running your race for God?
How can we be like the stadium crowd and encourage others to reach their finish line?
While our responsibilities in God’s service are different to the apostle Paul’s, we are all called to run the same race as he did, to keep the same faith as he did, and ultimately to receive the same reward as he did….. the crown of righteousness.
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