Till the End!

"We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first."

Hebrews 3:14

Recently I heard a story about a physically handicapped teenage girl who ran track in high school. Her father said her goal was to finish the race whenever she ran. He also said sometimes she would finish half an hour after everyone else had completed the course. But she would finish!

My goal as a follower of Jesus is the same. My goal is not to be the greatest Christian who ever lived. I simply want to finish the race!

So when I stumble and fall and I will, I get up and take the next step toward the goal of finishing the race. Hebrews 3:14 must be my “motto.” I will hold firmly till the end the confidence I had at first.

So how can I humbly see myself? I am like a runner in the Special Olympics. I may not be very fast. I may not be strong compared to others in the race. I stumble a lot and sometimes I fall. But this I know. I will get up every day and take the next step. I will hold firmly to the end of the race the confidence I had at first and by His grace I will finish the race and complete the course.

Don’t forget the highest honor to a soldier is not a promotion in rank. The highest honor is the “Purple Heart.” He is the soldier who shed blood and was wounded in battle. As you run the race and engage the Enemy you may not only stumble, but you may be wounded and even shed blood.

So life is both a race and a battle. Perhaps the quote is out of context, but Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9:11 said “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong.”

If as a follower of Jesus Christ I am both in the race and the battle, the outcome is guaranteed.

“Today Lord, help me to take at least one step toward the goal. And Lord give me the strength to engage the Enemy in one more skirmish. So that on that Day I will hear You say that I have kept the faith and finished the course!”