February 4

“With so many witnesses in a great cloud all around us, we too, then, should throw off everything, that weighs us down and the sin that clings so closely, and with perseverance keep running in the race which lies ahead of us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection…”

Though I have never been one for “sports analogies,” I find Paul’s metaphoric use of the footrace compelling. What is this race? A competition? Does this “prize” go to the swiftest runner, or to the most sure-footed? Do we run it as individuals, or as a team? Today, to me,
this race seems to be a relay with a prize that is carried and passed from one runner to the next. Those who run do not run alone, but with others and with witnesses.

THANK YOU, GOD, THAT THE PRIZE IS NOT MINE TO WIN OR LOSE, AND THAT I AM NOT ALONE WHEN I RUN OR WHEN I CROSS THE FINISH LINE. I PRAISE YOU THAT OUR SUCCESS IS A CERTAINTY. “FAITH IS THE VICTORY THAT OVERCOMES THE WORLD.” (1 JOHN 5:4) AMEN.

-Shared by Lezlie Daniel