Aimee Lind from Appleton Alliance Church’s Excel Sports who started a running ministry for Excel (click here to see
about her efforts), wrote the following on her reasons for running. Think you will find it stimulating.
Why do you run? For me the answer is very simple. Running is a tangible way for me to experience the Lord every day. Being able to run 1, 8, 15 or 26 miles at one time is truly a gift from God, but logging miles doesn’t happen overnight. It takes dedication, sacrifice, perseverance, and strength. Running hills, running through snow, and running when you’d rather rest help us each become better runners. Signing up for a race is only half the battle. Anyone can sign up for a race, some can even race without training, but to run the race well you must train to get to the start line as the best runner you can be.
In life, once you surrender your life to Christ you become a runner in life’s race. There will be times that you will have to persevere through life’s trials, endure when you’d rather quit, change when it would be easier to remain the same. These are all moments in life that make us stronger Christians.
Each day as a Christ-follower you strive to be more like Him, but this is not going to happen overnight. We need to daily surrender our life to Him. It’s a choice each day, to live for Him. The same is true in running. Daily you
have a choice: to run and become a better runner or to not run.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:24 to “run in such a way as to get the prize.” Our prize as a Christ-follower is the eternal rewards promised to us by Jesus, to hear Him say, “well done good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). Our prize as a runner is to not just cross the finish line, but to cross the finish line having run well. Knowing that you prepared to the best will make crossing the finish line so much sweeter.
Unlike a running race in which only one runner wins, in life we can all win. We are not competing against one another, the prize is offered to each and every person who has surrendered their life to Christ. That is great news! Winning is great and in races there always seems to be someone faster or stronger, but not in God’s race.
That is why I run. To take time each day with the Lord, to prepare myself to continue running His race.
