Marathon Man

                It's hot here in Western Pennsylvania just as is in so many other areas of the country. Today was a day that I had to do lawn work....and then walk a considerable distance to pick my truck up after its annual inspection. The heat got to me at one point and that reminded me of my one and only marathon. I was a runner back then....forty years ago....but not a....'runner'....if you know what I mean. I ran enough to take great pleasure in it....but not enough to run a marathon.
                The Apostle Paul tells us to run the race as if to win....but I don't think that he had in mind that if there are six in the race....or thousands as in my marathon....that one had to come in first.....or they were a loser. No....Dave Wottle came in first in his famous Olympic race.....but Steve Prefontaine did not....but both men 'won' in that they trained....and they raced. They were runners....and race runners....and they ran....mission complete. Whether one does not come in first....or even win a medal at all....does not make one a 'loser'....as that word is so often used today.
               So anyway....I still should have been able to at least run that 26 miles without having EMTs run out to check on me....which they did. Some unexpected things happened.....the weather being one....and getting some kind of bug in the hotel room the night before the race was another....but the die was cast and I was going to run the race. I felt pretty good in the cooler morning.....and the first eight miles went faster than I even planned.....but from that point on I could get no water down. I would grab a cup and try to swallow...but it would come back up.
               At the halfway point I knew that I was done.....but this was an out and back course....in a day before cell phones....and I had no other choice but to keep on going. As happens to many people....when adrenaline comes into play....it happened to me....as I was about a quarter mile from the finish....and that adrenaline must have kicked in....and I could have crossed the finish line looking like an actual runner....but there was this old couple....older than dirt....(but possibly younger than I am today).....and holding hands....almost waddling towards the finish line....and people were cheering them. If I had passed them in a blur with this rush of adrenaline.....what would that have looked like....like I thought the cheers were for me?   Or maybe there would have been some boos for passing them. Anyway that was my marathon. I came in second to the last. When I remind my wife today of this she always asks me....well what about those who did not finish? OK....so maybe I was fortieth from last?
              I'm not going to tell you how to run this Christian race. I'll let others who run theirs much better than I tell you that....but I can tell you what to prepare for. First you have to know that this is indeed as a race. This isn't a stroll through the park. And it is a marathon....not a sprint. You are going to get tired....and that fatigue is going to build....and there are times when you will wonder what you are doing in this race....and there even may be times when you consider quitting. There's not always going to be someone right in front of you to follow....so watch for the directions.....and warning signs. Keep praying the whole way. Keep drinking the pure milk of the Word. Forget that chronometer on your arm. If someone offers help....take it. If the spectators boo you....consider it a compliment. Don't ever look back....there's probably nothing back there but empty discarded water cups....as it was in my race. If you come up to someone bent over and heaving....stop to offer help....even if nothing more than encouragement. And when you see that finish line....even if it is still miles away....praise God that He will take you there even if He has to have an angel pick you up under his wings.
               I reckon that there are multiple millions who have finished already. John Bunyan finished in a time of 59 years....Spurgeon in 57 years....Jonathan Edwards 54....Eric Liddell 43....and David Brainerd only 29 years. Billy Graham stopped often along the way to give crusades....and it took him 99 years. I'll probably come in second to the last again....but if you are in front of me....I'll slow down so that you can get the cheers.