Finishing the Race Well

During our recent church camp, one of our speakers concluded his talk with an illustration about running a cross country race.  He was amazed to see the lead runner, who finished before any other runner emerged onto the track, vomiting from pushing himself to the limit.  He wondered why anyone would put themselves yourself through that pain when no one was even threatening for the lead.  Then it struck him:  unlike others whose race strategy is based on beating the other racers, that man was focused on running his best race.  It was a race against the clock and against himself.

I have seen clips of runners who, rather than exerting themselves to their physical maximum, believed they were coasting to victory.  They were confident in victory as they jogged towards the finish line, smiling with arms raised over their heads in glorious triumph.  While they were drinking in the cheers of the spectators, victory slipped from their grasp when another runner sprinted past them to win.  Though I have never won a cross country race in my life, I expect it is a satisfying experience.  There are undoubtedly many reasons people run and race one another.  Some do it for exercise, others enjoy being part of a team or competing, and others are naturally good at it.

The Bible tells believers were are all running a spiritual race in Hebrews 12:1-2:  "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."  Rather than taking our cues from others, we ought to be like the one who ran his best race.  It would be a shame for us to slack off a good pace because we are outdistancing all others we can see.  With Jesus as our guide, our race is not a competition against other Christians.  Running well and finishing strong is not for our glory but for Christ's sake.  We run, not to win, but because Jesus has already won.

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7-8:  "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ 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."  Paul finished his race and kept the faith, and praise God He strengthens us to endure.  We can keep the faith despite opposition and the weakness of our flesh because it is God who keeps us through faith unto salvation (1 Peter 1:3-5).  Rather than celebrating our progress is better than others or we have tackled the hill section of the course, it is not the time to pat ourselves on the back or accept the praise of men.  May the race of our lives be run for the glory of God as we look to Jesus continually.

An Encouraging Warning

Even though the Bible records warnings and tragic events from history, because of God the tenor of Scripture is encouraging rather than discouraging.  There is more than a silver lining for Christians but the guarantee of a glorious future with God with comfort, help and strength presently through His presence.  Faith in the living God opens a new world of abundant life to every person who submits and humbles themselves before Him.  While our eyes scan for promising signs to put our faith in, Jesus is the one we must look to because God's goodness and promises are always assured.

God is able to bring hope out of hopelessness, and the life of Samson provides a good illustration of this.  After the Holy Spirit departed from Samson for his sin and unfaithfulness to God that led to his head being shaved by Delilah, God remained gracious to him.  Samson was not forgotten or cast away by God.  Though Samson was arrested, blinded, bound and enslaved by the Philistines, at his lowest, darkest point the goodness of God shone in Judges 16:22:  "However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven."  Perhaps Samson felt like his life was over after being betrayed by the woman he loved and was shamed by his fall from being a judge for 20 years in Israel, but God wasn't through with Samson.  The regrowth of Samson's hair foreshadowed a restoration of God's Spirit upon Samson.  By the power of God, Samson would deal a massive blow to the Philistines by toppling the supporting pillars of temple of their god and kill more Philistines in death than during his entire life.

This story of Samson came to mind as I was mowing the nature strip by our house.  When the concrete footpath was being put in, damage was done to the bark of the gum tree by a careless Bobcat operator.  The gash in the bark was quite extensive, and initially I was concerned the tree would not survive.  Amazingly, it has continued to thrive and fresh, green growth continues to adorn the branches.  As I looked recently at the green leaves, I felt this was a good sign--that is, until I looked at the bark at the base of the tree.

On the other side of the tree I noticed that underneath where the bark has begun to repair itself an ugly hole developed--likely a harbinger of death.  It looks like white ants (termites) or some other pest has taken up residence under the bark, and the remaining bark at the base of the tree is splitting and rotting away.  To me, the cause for concern with the damaged bark completely overrides the positives of the green leaves that bask proudly in the sun.  Here we see the antithesis of Samson's hair regrowing, for there is superficial beauty and the appearance of strength that will not endure if things continue as they are.

This is illustrated in the life of Absalom, son of king David.  He was a very handsome man without physical blemish who wore his full head of hair long, and it was so heavy on him he would cut and weigh it annually.  Not only was Absalom an attractive fellow, but he was also personable and friendly.  As a prince he made time to speak with regular people, listen to their problems, and commiserate with them.  But like the tree on the nature strip, there were also clear signs for concern.  He had orchestrated the death of his own brother; he set fire to general Joab's field.  He worked to steal the hearts of the people away from the king and sought their loyalty to himself.  Looking at the warning signs, it was not surprising when he declared himself to be king over Israel and sought the life of his father.

There are people inside and outside the church who appear very successful in ministry and business, in their marriage and families.  Their lives are like a thriving tree with green growth and without a dead branch to be seen.  They are like Samson and Absalom in their prime, and we may even idolise them.  But from a spiritual perspective, there is grave cause for concern in their pride that shows subtly in the way they snap at their children or spouse when they are tired, how they brag or refuse to listen.  The neglect of prayer and time with the LORD feeding on His word is not visible during their highly regarded sermons, nor is it noticed in their rising net worth.  But the sin of self-sufficiency, like rotten bark at the base of the tree or cancer undiagnosed in the bones, will always be destructive in the end.  Like the green growth on the tree initially took my eye off further examination of the trunk, so we imagine spiritually fruitfulness or increase is assured by what we can see when it is also being undermined right in the open--if we are willing to take a closer look.

Psalm 1:1-3 compares the life of one who fears God to a healthy tree:  "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ² but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. ³ He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."  Let us not imagine we can thrive spiritually when we walk in ungodly counsel, stand with sinners or sit with scorners.  We ought to delight in God and His statues that guide us continually, living lives worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Little insects can bring down the biggest trees, and a little pride, arrogance and self-righteousness works to ruin the strongest saint.  Let us be those who humble ourselves before God knowing He will exalt us in due time, and thus we live to exalt and glorify Him always.  Even in God's warnings there is great encouragement for all those who hope in the LORD.

The God of Hope

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

The God of Israel is the God of patience, comfort and hope.  All who are born again by faith in Jesus are ushered into all joy and peace in believing, to the end we would abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This hope is an expectation, strong confidence God will make good on His promises to us.  As partakers of the Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus, the Spirit produces good spiritual fruit in and through our lives.

When we speak of joy, peace and hope, often our experience of them is filtered by how we are feeling rather than by what Jesus has accomplished and promised.  While it is true joy, peace and confidence are connected with our feelings, it would be a mistake to make our feelings the measure of what Jesus has created us to be.  Happiness depends on what happens, yet Jesus promises fullness of joy to all His disciples regardless of our circumstances.  When I hear people say they "have a peace" about something, it seems to be more in reference to a feeling than their righteous standing with God that is not based upon works we have done or could ever do.  "Hope" from a worldly standpoint can mean more a wish or longing than a reality based upon Christ's resurrection and confidence His life is being lived out through us.

God's word works to change the way we think, and the positive knock-on effect is it begins to change the way we live, speak and feel.  This walk with Jesus is not embraced by denying or stuffing our bad feelings but to respond to those same feelings by holding fast to the truth revealed in the Scripture.  When we feel hopeless, we can be strengthened in God by the patience and comfort of the Bible.  Even as our stores of physical energy are consumed by activity, so our fill of all joy, peace and hope is impacted by the things we focus on.  Should we find ourselves lacking the fruit of the Holy Spirit, it is likely to some degree we have given place to unbelief that refuses to appropriate the joy provided for us in Jesus.  Like Peter who began to sink in the Sea of Galilee when he fearfully eyed the waves that looked to swallow him, we too can be distracted seeking help from our risen Saviour.  To his credit Peter cried out to Jesus for salvation and in doing so provided an example for us to follow.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, dear reader, not so you can avoid negative feelings or feel happy for a change, but for a far better reason:  that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We can have total confidence and assurance of salvation by faith in Jesus, and this means God will be faithful to deliver us from all troubles and tribulations in this life.  It is silly we can entrust God to save us for all eternity, yet at the same time we can justify feeling hopeless about problems we currently face.  We have peace with God, the peace of God and peace from God in unity with Him and other Christians:  isn't that comforting to know?  Aren't you glad we have a Saviour who provides abundant life with a living hope that does not fade away?  Our beauty and strength fades, but the love and light of Jesus Christ shines ever brighter in the darkness.

The Whole Bible is Good

We live in a day of having the great privilege of being able to hold God's word in our hands and read the full revelation of God in the 66 books of the Bible.  We can read God's promises and see how they were fulfilled in due time.  This is one reason we ought to continuously make a pilgrimage of reading through the Bible, and once we have read it there remains much for us to glean and grow from by reading it again.  The Bible isn't just a book we read and "know" like a movie, book or comedy sketch, but one through which we learn of God's character, our need for Him, and His worthiness of being trusted.

As we read through the Bible and become increasingly familiar with historical events and people therein, there remain gaps in our understanding that provoke questions other parts of the Bible explain.  For instance, God promised to drive out all the inhabitants of Canaan before the Hebrews.  But as we read through the books of Joshua and Judges, we see God's people did not drive out the inhabitants of the land, nor could they.  After the Hebrews were established in the land, they provoked the LORD to anger by their idolatry.  Judges 2:20-22 says, "Then the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He said, "Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, ²¹ I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, ²² so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the LORD, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not."  On the surface this seems like God went back on His word, but if we go back to an earlier book of the Bible we see God has doing exactly as He said.

God said in Deuteronomy 11:22-23:  "For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do--to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him--²³ then the LORD will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves."  God's promise to drive out all the nations before His people was a conditional upon their obedience, on their faithfulness to keep God's commandments.  They forsook the LORD and His commands, and thus God fulfilled His word to not drive out all the inhabitants of the land.  God is not obligated to reward His people for their disobedience and unwillingness to remain faithful to Him.  God did not give His people the silent treatment, disown or cast them off, but He explained the reasons why the Hebrews were unable to drive out nations they assumed God would help them drive out.

Joshua told the children of Israel in Joshua 23:13, due to their lack of love and obedience to the LORD ,"...know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you."  While God's people were unfaithful to Him, He remained faithful to them and the covenant He made with their fathers:  they remained His people, and He remained their God.  Their unwillingness and inability to drive out the Canaanites was redeemed by God because He made them like scourges on their sides and thorns in their eyes.  Being scourged or being blinded by a thorn in the eye leads to a person seeking medical attention, and the LORD allowed Canaanites to remain with the purpose of chastening His people to repentance, to prompt them to turn to Him as deliverer and saviour.  Those who remained in the land were thus evidence of God's love, grace and faithfulness to them in an unexpected way.

While the Bible may not answer every question we have (as our questions often miss the mark), God has provided us the entire Bible to help us better understand God's purposes.  It reveals not only historical events but our need to change the way we think and live to better align with God's wisdom and ways.  We can better recognise conditional promises God has given us, and reading leads us to examine our hearts to see if we have been faithful and obedient to all God requires of us, to love Him with our whole being.  We should not be surprised when we are unwilling to do what God has commanded we end up being unable to do what only He can do for us.  Even our failures and pains can be evidence of God's grace and faithfulness to us, for our struggles and troubles prompt us to seek the LORD with increased urgency.