When Everyone Gets a Medal!

Last week I ran my first 5K for the season. My son Nathaniel ran as well. It was a fun race in that it was down by the beach and was part of the New Jersey Marathon weekend.  (No, I don’t want to run any marathons!)  Although I didn’t quite run the pace I was hoping to run, I still came in the top of 15% out of 580 runners and first in my age group (I beat out 5 other 55-59 year olds!).  As I said, it was a really fun race and it motivated me to keep on running and working on my pace.

What was different about this race was that, as each and every person crossed the finish line they received a medal!  Although the medal itself is not really all that valuable, there was something exhilarating about having a medal handed to you as you ran across the line in that final push.  It seemed to make all the sweat, panting, and effort well worth it!  There’s nothing like being rewarded for one’s hard work and perseverance. 

Nathaniel & I with our post-race medals! 

The Apostle Paul said, “…my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me….” (Acts 20:24 – NIV)  Later on he wrote, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 3:14 – NIV)  Paul refers to our life of faith as a race. And, the encouragement we are given is to live our lives in such a way that we finish our race—i.e. that we keep the faith throughout life, all the way to death.

You see, it’s not about being the fastest or strongest. It’s not about coming in first.  It’s not about beating someone else out. It’s not about one person getting a prize at the expense of someone else. Rather, each person who crosses the finish line will be handed a medal—a reward, a prize! Thus, the call is for each one of us to run with perseverance, with our eyes focused on the goal, and to believe that each and every one of us who finishes this race of faith will be handed a medal—the prize called, “eternal life!”

This spring and summer I’ll be running a few more 5K races.  I don’t expect to win any of the races (although I’d love to do so!).  I’m not looking to be the fastest or the strongest. I just want to finish each one in a way that I know that I’ve done the very best I can.  And, I want the same to be true of my life of faith so that at the end of my life I might be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7) I hope the same is true for you. 

Keep on running and have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris