The Christian Race

JM Rowland

5, Tichborne Street,

Leicester.

The Christian Race – to all at C.U at School.

20/3/41 – the day before Cross Country

1 Corinthians 6vs 24 – 27

It is quite fitting that we should look for a few minutes at the Christian life as a race day, on the eve of the cross country.

The little lesson by St Paul (above) conjures up the pictures of two types of runner we do not want to be like;

The runner who has no goal or the runner who has no guts.

It is possible to go through the Christian life having no higher aim than just to go to Heaven when we die.

That is like the cross-country runner whose sole aim is to complete the course.

We can just drift through our lives, making sure of our own salvation and nothing more.

But that great Christian runner Paul, condemns this way of running the race.

‘Don’t just drift over the Christian course to Heaven, ’run to obtain.’

The first part of verse 26 conjures up for me a picture of the runner who has no guts; the ‘uncertain’ runner in the Christian race, who one weekend is doing so well for his Lord, and the next day is a bit shy of Christian company.

I call them ‘switchback’ Christians, because they lead such ‘up and down’ lives, with such a flourish – just like the hopeful people who start off on a cross country run as if it were a 220 yard sprint!

But as Christ himself said of them in the Parable of the Sower, ‘……afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.’

No, the ‘switchback Christian’, the Christian runner who has no guts, is not much use to his Lord in the Christian race.

Now, we’ve had a look at two kinds of runners in the race for which we’ve all entered, and we’ve said to ourselves ‘ Oh what silly people, trying to run the Christian race like that.’

But before we grow too smug and self satisfied, let’s take a peek at our own lives.

It’s more than easy to run the race like one of the two runners we’ve looked at this afternoon.

It’s not at all difficult to just drift through the Christian life like a monk, only concerned with our own salvation; and some of us find it very easy to be ‘uncertain’ or ‘switchback’ runners in the race.

Well, let us all remember what we have learnt from Paul this afternoon:-

Never to be a runner with no goal.

Never to be a runner with no guts.

Shall we end with some more words of St Paul (Hebrews 7 vs 1-2)? ‘…..let us run the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus…’  

Paul wrote these words: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course. I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day…”

2 Timothy 5 vs 7-8

I wonder, when we are old, when we have all reached the end of life’s course, how many of us will be able to say something like that, I wonder……