Marathon Mentality 5: A Race Ran Faithfully

…For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Tim 4:8 ESV)

I’ve focused most of this series on the general endurance needed to run the races of life, but now, we’ll look at the Christian perspective.

The Bible makes direct comparison with the sport of running and the Christian life multiple times, and it’s through these parallels that we see the spiritual significance of becoming a great runner.

The Apostle Paul shared these insights by frequently comparing the long-term commitment to Christ and His work to running (Phil 2:16, Gal 5:7 ESV, 1 Cor 9:24). And the theme of endurance and its necessity is spread all throughout the Bible (Rom 5:3-4 ESV, Gal 6:9, James 1:12, Heb 10:36)—even in the words of Jesus Himself (Matt 10:22, Matt 24:13, Luke 8:15 NIV).

Scripture acknowledges the presence of distractions, waning motivation, and both internal and external resistance, yet instead of coldly telling us to endure without reason, we’re encouraged by a model and a promise.

Models and Promises

We discussed this earlier in the series, but the reason we dismissed “special-ness” as a prerequisite to endure is because that belief downplays efforts of those who trained for such valuable skill.

After all, the appeal for 90’s kids everywhere to “be like Mike” didn’t just stem from the fact that Michael Jordan was a great basketball player. There was an underlying message that you could play like him too if you trained enough, and kids needed that example to see what was possible.

Likewise in the sport of running, Eliud Kipchoge’s successful attempt to break the marathon’s 2-hour barrier gave credence to his belief that “no human is limited”. And now, runners everywhere flock to start lines wearing the same shoe model Kipchoge wore to accomplish his feat.

Both Jordan and Kipchoge served as excellent examples for what’s possible in athletics, but no matter how great of a model each was, or how perfect their marketing made them seem, they were still flawed.

Jordan has long since retired from basketball and other players have had more years of peak production. And for as groundbreaking as Kipchoge’s successes were, he’s now beyond his running prime and is no longer winning official races among today’s elite.

Even if we followed their models perfectly, we, like them, would gradually fall back to what we once were. The Bible, however, presents a perfect model with a promise of unending improvement for those who follow Him:

…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Heb. 12:1-3 ESV)

While the author of Hebrews spent the previous chapter giving us great examples of faith among other flawed people in history (see Hebrews 11), he starts chapter 12 by pointing us to the only perfect example.

Jesus endured not only mockery, shame, and isolation, but also a wrongful death. It was through His endurance though, that He allowed the good news—God’s restoration of His relationship to believers—to become reality. And now, you, I, and whoever else believes can live a lifestyle that “holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Tim 4:8 ESV).

Jesus is our perfect model of endurance, and life is His promised reward (John 10:10). Once we follow Him, we can live life knowing we have God’s approval (John 15:8 ESV). We can live lives free of drama and relational turmoil (1 John 4:7, Eph 4:32 NIV). And we can rest assured that the good works we do are impactful no matter how things appear from our perspective (Matt 25:40, Col 3:23-24, 1 Cor 15:58, Heb 6:10 ESV).

But perhaps the greatest benefit of following Jesus is this: we will never fall away (John 10:28 ESV).

Explaining this in a letter to a group of believers, Paul wrote, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Php 1:6 NLT).

Unlike the imperfect models we discussed and the expected decline that comes by following them, Scripture tells us that our character is constantly being shaped to become perfect like our model (Rom 8:29, Eph 2:10). All we have to do is stay in the race (John 15:4-5).

Let’s Finish the Race

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor 9:24-27 NIV)

To be honest, it’s been tough lately to show the resolve displayed in the quote above.

The last couple years have been difficult for me—not because of some serious misfortune, but because of the weariness that happens over the course of a long race.

I’m not fresh like I was years ago, my body gained some nagging issues I’m still trying to solve, and life has become…unsatisfying, to say the least.

My own endurance and faith haven’t been as strong as I need them to be, so I wrote to myself and put this series together.

The easiest thing to do when you’re down is to find distractions, seek destructive pleasures, and connect with people you know you don’t belong with. All those actions bring the novelty that’s rare when you’re deep into a seemingly endless race, but I encourage you to do the hard thing, and endure instead.

That’s what I’ve chosen to do.

I know I’m not a perfect model, but I want to be like the perfect one again. So mentally, physically, and spiritually, I’ll keep running. And when it’s all said and done, hopefully we can both say this: