During my high school days on the track team, one thing you couldn’t do — and still cross the finishing line — was to quit.
Yes, it was sometimes grueling to keep running when legs were heavy and burning with pain.
But quitting would have added self-doubt and feelings of failure to the physical burden.
Yes, I truly enjoyed it when I won races.
And, no, I didn’t like losing.
But as long as kept running the best I could, I was never a loser.
Those who crossed the finish line, whether in first or in last, were never losers.
They kept going and experienced victory over the voices calling them to quit.
That made them winners, whether they received ribbons and trophies or not.
Those that quit? They were the losers.
Sometimes it is tough to keep walking the path of faith.
Life hurts.
People are yelling at you to give up because you’re not as fast or strong or as impressive or conniving as others.
Don’t quit.
Keep running the race of faith in your family, at your job, at your church.
Your success will be measured by God against what He expects of YOU, not somebody else.
Though the church at Ephesus was far from perfect, according to Revelation 2, one thing that congregation did get right was the fact that people there were not quitters — “You have patiently suffered for Me without quitting” (Rev. 2:3).
When you cross that finish line into eternity, there will be plenty of people waiting for you who crossed it long before you.
That won’t matter, though, because everybody who crosses that finish line will receive a crown in recognition of their faith, not their swift feet.
As always, I love you
Martin
