Last Sunday, November 30, 2014, we drove our son to the UP Diliman.  He was going to take his final examination in his PE 1 class.  The way I remember it, PE 1 deals with the parameters of fitness and health.  All semester long, my son came home from PE class sore all over because of circuit training and because of running for 40 minutes or so around the UP Manila buildings to complete at least 5 kilometers in preparation for their final exam.  The exam involved running twice around the UP Academic Oval in under 40 minutes to pass the final exam.

We had to be there at 5:30 am as that was the assembly and attendance time.  And since he would be so tired after, we decided to wait for his run to be finished and go home together.  As we waited for the race to begin, it struck me how the life of faith is much like a race.  Apostle Paul used the metaphor of a race to describe the Christian life.

1. The Christian life is a race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1

Most people think that salvation means a safe-conduct pass out of hell only.  It is not just that.  Salvation means also a relationship with Jesus Christ in which we are called as soldiers to a spiritual battle, a worker in a vineyard, a fisher of men, and a competitor in a race.  This only means that the Christian life is all of a status, position and standing; but it is also a vocation, a profession and a calling.  Those who desire only the position of being a child of God without any desire to be “about the Father’s business” – is not a true child of God.

Those Christians who do not even know that there is a race to be run, those who do not show up for warm-up, those who do not even show up at the starting line, those who drop out of the race and go and do some other thing – these Christians do not realize that the Christian race is a race with a prize at the end.  The prize is a reward.  The prize is not salvation, mind you – you cannot run the race unless you are already saved.  The prize of running with patience this race of the Christian life is a reward of an incorruptible crown – I like that.

After the 5KM run last Sunday, the top ten finishers were given medals.  There were so many who made it to the finish line before the 45 minute mark.  Those students finished the race, and their reward is passing the final exam, but those who made it to the finish line first received medals.  There were others who finished the race as well but they reached the finish line after the 45 minute mark.  They did not pass the exam – they either got an incomplete or they would have to take another written exam.  There were a few who did not even reach the finish line – they got injured along the way.

1. The Christian life is a race that requires spiritual discipline. Hebrews 12:1

The race of faith is not a sprint, it is a marathon.  What matters is not the speed at which we run as much as the consistency and endurance with which we run.  What matters is that we run with faith, looking at Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith and who had run the race before us and won it.

As I watched the instructions being given by the PE teachers to the students gathered there, I was surprised and wondered whether all the freshmen blocks at UP Manila were present.  There was about a thousand students there, all dressed in their PE shirts.  They all had their race bibs on.  These things clearly marked them as a runner in the race.  There were a lot of other people running around the oval, they were running enthusiasts but although they were running on the same road, they were not included in the race – they were not registered in the race, they were not dressed for the race and they had no number that marked them as a participant in the race.

Another thing I noticed was that, even the students who participated in the race did not all behave in the very same way.  Some people had cell phones strapped to their arms, to their belts.  Some carried towels around their necks or water bottles.  The Scriptures exhort us to “lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset us.”  This means that just like runners in a marathon, we are to strip down to basics – wear only the right shoes and wear the appropriate clothing that will protect and yet, not hamper or weigh down the runner as he runs.

One cannot run effectively or efficiently if one carries so many other things that he might not need in the race.  You can’t carry your laptop while running.  You can’t carry your books; you can’t carry your make-up kit or your purse.  You have to run only with the barest of essentials.

In 1 Corinthians 9:25, Apostle Paul likens the discipline in running to the spiritual discipline of the Christian life.  He says that “every man who striveth for mastery is temperate in all things.”  This means that prior to the race and even during the race, one keeps oneself from overindulging.  If you want to finish the race, if you want to run and win the race, then you must discipline yourself:  don’t eat too much before the race; don’t eat food that is high in fat and high in sugar but eat food that the body can digest more slowly and thus, give you more sustained fuel for the entire race.  You cannot sleep late; you cannot tire yourself partying and expect to be a good runner.

Apostle Paul says that we must bring our body “into subjection” this means that when our natural inclination is to lie in bed the whole day, we have to drag ourselves out of bed early in the morning to practice and to run the race.  It means that if our natural tendency is to linger at the dining table, savouring good rich food, then we have to abstain from eating and indulging in those kinds of food because it will make us fat and heavy, therefore, unable to run with endurance.

1. The Christian life is a race with rules.

I remember during the assembly and instructions, the organizers put up a map of the academic oval on the projector detailing where the race begins (at the AS steps), where the water station was (across the AS steps), where the first station was (at the side of the Quezon Hall) and where the second station was (at the College of Music).

To ensure that the students run two laps around the academic oval (and they didn’t cut across the oval through the Beta way (a foot path from AS to the College of Engineering) or through the lagoon, or go down that street in the middle of the oval, the students were to get a black baller ID when they got to the first station.  There were marshals on the street and they even joked that there were CCTV cameras on the pathways that cut across the oval.  On the second lap, the runners would have to go through the College of Music to get another baller ID.  At the finish line, if they try to go through without the baller IDs or with just one baller ID, they will not be given full credit.

There were rules.

The same way with the Christian life.  There are rules – we are to run by faith, we are to run as we are led by the Spirit of God, we are to run with patience, we are to run with joy.  We are to avoid evil.  We are to run with the Word of God lighting our path. WE are to run without grieving the Holy Spirit or quenching His fire.  We are to run the race without being conformed to the world.  We are to run as we are transformed into the image and glory of Christ.

We cannot run in any which way we desire or prefer.  We are to run the race the way God intended us to run it – and for this, we must run the race prayerfully and thoughtfully, meditatively and worshipfully.  We don’t run as people who are merely “beating the air.”  We are to run a race, but not to compete with other Christians.  We are to run the race, but without the objective of getting glory and honor for ourselves.  We are to run with meekness and humility, in honor preferring one another and loving one another, encouraging another and exhorting one another.  WE are to run with our eyes stuck on Jesus Christ, following him.

The Christian life is not an ordinary race.  An ordinary race has a course marked out for all to see and to know beforehand.  The Christian life is a race but we are all running a race with a different course.  No two Christians will run the same course.  WE may find ourselves running parallel to other Christians at some point, but the course I will run will be different from the course another will run – only Jesus Christ knows the way and we must follow Him. The way to go is revealed at each step we take.

I was with a crowd of parents, guardians and spectators, on the sidewalk, watching the runners go past.  I could hear some laughing at some runners who were huffing and puffing and who looked like they were about to pass out.  It’s the same way with the Christian life – those of your friends and relatives who are watching you run will not understand you – they will point at you, stare at you, and even laugh and deride you.  You must not faint because of this.  You must keep your eyes on Jesus Christ as He has run this race – he endured the cross, despising the shame.  So must we.

Often, as I look about, here I am, all tired and weary, yet still running the race – I see others around me, they are not running, they are having fun – they are making names for themselves, making their mark in the world, gaining influence, they are travelling the world and engaging in activities that give them fame and fortune.  Often, I think to myself – why am I tiring myself out in this race when I can go over there and have fun, like them?

See, this Christian life is an eternal race.  The rewards are eternal.  Long after those people on the side have received all their good things in this life, the eternal rewards of running this eternal race will outshine all their trophies through eternity.  I am running for the glory of the eternal Son of God.  I will keep to this race.  I am running to receive an incorruptible crown so that I can lay it at the feet of Jesus Christ.  In eternity, I will receive my rest.  I will receive the recognition from the Son of God who will say to me, “Welcome, though good and faithful servant.”  I will be able to say, along with Apostle Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I finished the course, I have kept the faith.”

The Christian life is not an ordinary race.  The winner is not the person who finishes first – it is won by the person who finishes it in faith.  It is won by those who have KEPT THE FAITH. Spiritual endurance, spiritual hardiness and spiritual stamina and resilience are key.

Let us run with patience this race that is set before us.  Let us run that we may obtain the prize – the prize of the mark of the high calling of God.  Let us press on.