In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

It was almost a year ago when I had the opportunity to run a half-marathon. It was quite a memorable experience. Now, let’s get one question out of the way right now. I know that a good number of you are thinking, “Why in the world would you want to run more than 13 miles?” That’s a fair question, but it would take too much time to answer it completely. I will take the easy out and say that I ran that race to finish it. That was my clear goal: just to finish. I wasn’t trying to win the race or run a good time. I just wanted to finish the race.

Today’s epistle lesson alludes to a more important race, a race that leads through this life and finally ends in eternity. Our goal is to finish with eternal life in heaven. So, the inspired apostle Paul sounds like a coach:

1. THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST (v.9)

One thing that you must do, if you are going to participate in a road race is to run the appointed course. You can’t just go wherever you want to, or you aren’t really running the race. You can’t start out, jump into a car, ride to the finish line, and then finish the race either. That would be cheating. You need to run the right way.

The same is true of our race through life. There is only one right way to get to heaven. We cannot get to heaven by our own works. We are sinners. We often stumble and fall into sin. Now, in a race, if you stumble and fall, that doesn’t help you. You might even become injured. And when we stumble and fall into sins, it doesn’t help us. Sometimes, we might turn the wrong way and even run the wrong direction through life, and the Lord needs to turn us around again and say, “this is the way to heaven.”

What is that way? Scripture tells us again and again. Here we find the answer in verse 9, where that apostle mentions that he wants to “be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” Righteousness is essentially being “right with God.” It is based on God’s decree that we are not guilty through Jesus. Our righteousness, our status of being right with God, does not come through trying to obey the law. It comes through faith in Jesus Christ. We could not live a perfect life, so Jesus lived a perfect life for us. We could not pay for our sins, so Jesus paid for all of our sins for us. We could not defeat the power of sin, death, and the devil, so Jesus did all of that for us, and rose from the dead. You are forgiven through Christ! And, through faith in Christ, eternal life is yours! You already own a place in heaven, and one day, we’ll get to go there and experience how great heaven really is.

So, dear friends, we are all running a race through life, whether we realize it or not. And you can’t get out of it. You have to keep moving through life. And the Bible says here, “Press on toward the goal, through faith in Christ.” But as you go, realize that we have help. We are...

2. HELD BY CHRIST (v. 12)

Verse 12 says, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” We haven’t yet experienced what it’s like to be in heaven. We aren’t already perfect. We aren’t already there. The finish line is still ahead of us. So, Paul wrote, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

He says that Christ Jesus took hold of him. Notice how different that is from saying that “I decided to ask Jesus into my heart.” Paul always gives God all the credit, and rightfully so. God chose us. We didn’t choose him. And Christ Jesus took hold of Paul, as he has taken hold of us.

In John chapter ten, Jesus tells us that he is the Good Shepherd. Then, he says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” What a comforting passage that is! As we follow Jesus through life, as sheep follow a good shepherd, he is giving us eternal life, and no one can snatch us out of Christ’s hand. He holds us, and keeps us safe.

You might not know this, but running can be dangerous at times. Most people think about the dangers of traffic, and to be sure, you need to watch out for drivers who hate runners! But, as any real runner knows, there is something else you need to be aware of. Occasionally, it happens that dogs that will attack. Some are harmless, and some aren’t. But, there’s one thing I have never seen in all my years of running. I have never been chased by a roaring lion. But, Scripture tells us that as we continue on our race through life, the enemy we need to watch out for is like a roaring lion who wants to devour us. It’s the devil. He wants to harm us. But, Jesus stays with us to keep us safe. So, don’t be afraid. Trust Christ, and press on toward the goal...

3. STRAINING HEAVENWARD (v. 13-14)

The inspired apostle writes, (13-14) “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” At this point in time, Paul had not yet arrived in heaven. So, he needed to keep forgetting what was behind and straining toward what was ahead. He kept straining heavenward.

That is one part of the half-marathon that I will probably never forget. It was about half-way through the race, and it was going really well. I was actually surprised at how well it was going. After 6 or 7 miles, it still seemed easy. I was confident that I would finish. But, then, a few things changed. First, I started to notice how hot it was. It was 94 degrees! Then, I had to face a long hill. It wasn’t that high, or really that long, but somehow, it seemed harder than it should have. Then, I bonked. That’s what runners call it when you run out of energy. I thought there would be something other than water on the course, but there wasn’t. And then, the race became a struggle.

When I finally made what seemed to be the last turn, I thought I was close to the finish line. I started to speed up thinking, “I’ll just get it over with.” But the road kept going and going. It seemed endless. Straining to reach that finish line was like straining heavenward through life. Sometimes, when people become elderly, they’ll ask, “Why doesn’t God just take me?” As I jogged that last mile, I wanted the course to just end. But, to actually finish, you need to go the whole way... That’s how it is in life too. We need to go the whole way with Christ. We can’t quit. We can’t stop. We need to continue all the way, straining heavenward.

Don’t bonk in your faith though. Don’t let your faith become depleted. See that you hear God’s Word, and experience rest in Jesus, and you will have what you need to finish the race of life, and receive eternal life.

My last memory of that race is the very best. As I approached the finish line, some good friends, fellow believers, came to meet me. They not only encouraged me to finish, but they welcomed me at the finish line. And once that race was over, the joy at the end was a little like heaven, I think. What relief! The drinks tasted the best. The knowledge that the race was over, and that I’d finished okay gave me a great feeling of accomplishment.

And when we end this life, through faith in Christ our Savior, Jesus will welcome us to heaven saying, “Welcome home!” And what great joy we will have there – forever. Amen.