A Finish Line or Starting Line?

Last weekend I ran my first 5K race in well over a year! I ran it to celebrate six months since my spinal surgery back in February. Although my time was not my fastest, crossing that finish line felt pretty special.  After all, because of what was happening in my spine, this past year my running was sporadic, to say the least. There would be a few weeks or even a month or so when I felt well enough to run. But then there were weeks and eventually months when running, no less racing, was out of the question. Thus crossing that finish line was pretty special. 

That finish line, however, was for me really just another starting line—another beginning.  When I crossed that line, I not only had that feeling of accomplishment—i.e., “I made it!”—that I usually do, but I very quickly (at least on my way home), began to think about my next step in my training: how I might increase my pace and decrease my time, and when my next race might be. For me, crossing a finish line is never merely an ending, but in fact a new beginning, a new starting line.

Throughout life we have all kinds of “finish lines” that are in essence new “starting lines.” The day you get that degree is a “finish line.” The day you stand at the marriage altar or welcome your first child is a “finish line.” When you finally land that job you’ve been hoping for or make that sale, it can feel like a “finish line.” Each of these are things you have hoped for and worked towards. But here’s the interesting thing about each of these finish lines: they are not really endings, but new beginnings, new starting lines.

And such will be the case when we cross the ultimate finish line of life.  After all, when we finish our “race” here on earth and receive our prize, we’ve not really reached an ending, but a new beginning: Life in the glorious presence of our Savior, Jesus Christ. At the moment we pass from this life into the next, we’ve not merely crossed a finish line, but have come to stand before a new starting line—the best starting line of all!

The Apostle Paul wrote, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18 - NIV) And, “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) After all, Paul knew that crossing the finish line of this life would bring him to the starting line of eternal life in the presence of God. 

Let’s run our race all the way to our new starting line that we might one day be able to say, “…I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7) 

Have a great day! 

- Pastor Tim Harris