[You may listen to a recording of this song here. A free lead sheet is available here.]
Life is the toughest of races;
We are not done till we breathe our last.
But if Christ is living within us,
Our victory is assured.
God declares us all winners
When we follow His way to the end.
He welcomes us all with a “well done”
And presents the prize of eternal life.
About This Song:
Although I wrote this song for the 2000 Olympic outreach in Sydney, Australia, I dedicated it to Dianne, the sister of our then-current church accompanist, Kim Fox. Dianne had fought a brave but losing battle against cancer.
The apostle Paul wrote these things about running and races…
2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV)
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Galatians 2:2 (NIV)
I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.
Galatians 5:7 (NIV)
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
1 Corinthians 9:26 (NIV)
Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.
Philippians 2:16 (NIV)
. . .as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
While no one quotation says this, I believe Paul would agree that each of us has his own race to run. We’re not competing with other people, but against the temptations and snares of this world. Had Adam and Eve not introduced sin into the world, life would be easy. Pleasant. Wonderful. Perfect.
We must deal with sin, though. And not just our own. We often have to endure the consequences of other peoples’ sins. The obvious example is countless millions of innocent Jews who lost their lives because of Hitler’s sins.
I’m not an athlete. What little I know about running I’ve learned from others. But the easiest way to lose a race is to take one’s eyes–one’s concentration–off the goal. The runner can’t afford to think about that big meal she’s going to enjoy in an hour or wonder how close the person behind her is. She must focus on the finish line and nothing else.
When we accept membership in God’s family through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, we launch from a starting block. We get off to a strong start. God urges us to run straight towards Him. I imagine Him standing at the finish line beckoning us on. How well we keep our eyes on Him affects the outcome of the race.
That brings up another issue. Running a race successfully is quite different from simply finishing one. I want to run the best race I can–the personal race God designed just for me.
I hope your eyes are set firmly on that Divine Finish Line, too. Wouldn’t you like to share a comment?
I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.
I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.
Best regards,
Roger
Links you might be interested in:
As I Come Singing. . . 