Hope at the Finish Line

    Most people have heard about the physical challenges of running a marathon, especially that infamous moment called “The Wall.”  However, in my experience the mental aspects of such a race provide the bigger challenge.  Often you must dig deep to find the motivation to do a training run that is tiring, time-consuming, and completely unnoticed and unappreciated by anyone else.  In the last half of the actual race, minutes start to feel like hours, and miles feel like whole races in themselves.  Mind and body unite behind one simple message: Stop.  Just stop. Normal people would stop.

   Stopping is a very real option.  Eventually a car will come by and pick you up.  And you are right, most normal people aren’t doing this, and there is no reason that you HAVE to do it either.  Running 18 miles is an impressive feat after all.  It just isn’t the 26 you set out to do.

   The only antidote to this poisoned mental state is holding up a clear vision of the finish line.  You must see the finish banner, hear the cheering, and feel the relief and pride of accomplishment.  That finishing moment makes sense of all the difficulty and pain.  Miles before arriving, it is this thought that instills hope, and robust hope is the only fuel that can keep you going in those hard moments.

   A life of following Jesus has its own moments of mental fatigue.  I’ve been working hard on learning Bambara lately, and language study has a way of being really humbling, as you go from a normal, reasonably intelligent (and intelligible) adult back to the verbal capabilities of a kindergartner.  Life and ministry here in general can be draining and discouraging.  Honestly, lately I’ve been in need of a view of the finish line. 

    At the end of a recent run, one of my favorite songs came on. (Joyful Noise by Flame and Trip Lee)  The song ends by quoting Revelations 21:3-4, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

    Could there be a more glorious vision of our finish line?  Can any other thought give hope like this?  Make no mistake, this is not escapist thinking.  We aren’t so caught up in thinking about heaven that we are no good on earth.  Quite the contrary, because our hope is so glorious, we push ourselves on in deeper service and passionate Christian living.  We consider our end so as to run harder in the present.   

    Let us run with perseverance! (Heb 12:1-3)