Run With Endurance

 "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." (Hebrews 12:1)

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. Everyone who competes goes into strict training. He does it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever" (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

I'm thinking about the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles. An amazing young man, Rowdy Gaines, won the gold medal for swimming the 100-meter race in 49 seconds.

He had worked hard to win -- swimming laps daily for hours. He later figured he had swam over 25,000 miles as he prepared himself for the games. During an interview once, he said, "I swam around the world preparing myself so I could win a race that lasted 49 seconds!"

(The earth is just under 25,000 miles in circumference.)

WOW! That's perseverance! That's dedication! That's commitment! But that's what it took to win "the race set before him."

Who sets the race before us? Do we honor and glorify Him with our dedication and commitment? Or do we give up pretty quickly? Maybe take all the credit for ourselves?

The crown awaits us...that crown that we can someday joyfully cast before Him....

Charles Wesley wrote a hymn about that crown - "Changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place. Till we cast our crowns before Him, lost in wonder, love and praise!"

That's the point of it all -- honoring and glorifying Him!

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! And all the people said 'Amen'!