The Christian life is like a race, with each running on his or her own track, not competing against each other. This race is not a short one to show who is swiftest, but is like a marathon that tests a person's endurance (Hebrews 12:1).

I was not an athlete in school, but one day I decided to try a marathon with many fellow students.

In a marathon, when the going gets tough, the body wants to stop, but you urge it on. The legs say they cannot take it anymore, but you tell them they can. The lungs say they are not getting enough oxygen, but you tell them there is plenty in the air and open your mouth wider to suck it in. Only one thing keeps your body going—you!

In a marathon the destination is the finish line and the reward is a trophy for the victor. In the Christian race, the destination is the Kingdom of God and the reward is eternal life for all who endure to the end. "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart [faint, KJV]" (Galatians 6:9).

How can we make sure we finish the race? We can be sure we will have help. Paul said, "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). This should give us confidence that we can make it, come hail, come storm.

God has chosen a team, and He has placed His confidence in us. But now is the training and testing time—a time of overcoming (Revelation 2:26).

He has given us the rules in the Bible to guide us. We need to be careful that we have understood the rules correctly and have mastered the course we are to follow.

Watching Over Us

Sometimes during a marathon a helicopter watches out for any runners needing help. Jesus Christ, like the helicopter pilot, is watching out for us, listening for any distress calls. He's been through it, so we should keep in constant touch with Him in earnest prayer (Hebrews 4:15-16).

Cheering Us On

Back to my regrettable attempt at a marathon. Only a third of the way I wanted to stop, but some fellow students were there, cheering me on. I honestly wished they hadn't come because all I wanted was to stop. But their cheers kept me going. Three quarters of the way I was determined to stop in spite of the cheers, but a group of girls there said I shouldn't give up after having come so far. I exhausted what energy was left in me, and did not cross the finish line, but fell on it. In the Christian race we need the encouragement of the Church, and we need to cheer others on as well (Galatians 6:1).

Extra Weights and Sins

Hebrews 12:1 mentions two things that can cause us to fail in the race: the weight we are urged to lay aside and the sin that so easily ensnares us.

Spare shoes, packets of food, towels—all these would be extra weights that over the course of a marathon could defeat a runner. In the spiritual race, fear of losing a job or desires for more physical things can weigh us down. Christ's priorities can help us lay aside these weights (Matthew 6:32-33).

We each have an area of weakness where we find the sin that so easily ensnares us. Perhaps bad habits constantly tempt us, whether gluttony, drunkenness, lying, etc. At baptism we were given the Holy Spirit to help us remove these sins (Romans 8:13).

If we stumble, we think, "What's the use—I'll never get over this!" But Christ our Advocate is there making intercession for us before the Father (1 John 2:1; see also 1:9).

Let us endure to the end. We will enter the Kingdom of God if we persevere in this marathon of life, looking to Jesus' example (Hebrews 12:2).

At the end of our lives we should be able to say with the apostle Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:7-8). UN