I've never been much of a runner. Expending a lot of energy to go in circles and end up back where you started is just not my thing. But I dabbled in it a bit when I was working with students at Texas A&M University. I trained to run the Straight Shot (6.2 miles) because I figured it would help if I set a goal.
I was psyched on the day of the race and had friends and family positioned along the route to cheer me on. Even though I didn’t finish in the top ten—or even the top two hundred—for me it was a win because I finished in the time I had set. Yet, without question, my goal from the beginning was to cross the finish line. I entered the race to go the distance and be done, and when I did, I was so done I've never run another one since!
I usually watch at least part of the marathon (26.2 miles) in the Summer Olympics, and when they finally cross the finish line, they've got nothing left in the tank. I don't remember ever hearing any of them say, "I only wish the race had been longer…I wish I could have just kept running and running." They entered the race knowing there was an end, and when it came—not in the middle—the celebration began.
King David tells us that everyone who enters this life is given a predetermined number of days on earth (Psalm 139:16). While some have more than others, nobody has an unlimited supply. The day we're born is the day the countdown begins, and every tick of the clock brings us one step closer to the finish line.
There's something about finish-line thinking that changes the way we think and live. A few years back, Tim McGraw’s "Live Like You Were Dying" spent seven weeks at #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs. The message was simple: figure out what's important and begin living it now.
Moses had a hit single recorded in Psalm 90 that carries the same message in the form of a prayer:
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12 NIV)
Thinking about tomorrow’s finish line makes us wiser today. Forgetting about eternity can lead to foolish choices because we live like everything is bookended by the present. Yet throughout the Bible, we see that choices made against the backdrop of eternity always have the best outcome. This was true of Jesus:
…let's run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Jesus was all about the finish line. He knew the celebration would begin after the cross because He'd then spend eternity not only with His Father, but with all those who'd been redeemed because of His choice. So He ran with endurance and joy.
Our wonderful God has saved the best for last. Living with the finish line in mind helps us to choose wisely and stay in the race as we look forward to the celebration that will go on forever…and ever…and ever…
"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries, and you rejoice." (Cherokee Proverb)