May the mumbling commence!
The Christian life is a marathon not a sprint. We need endurance. We need encouragement. We need each other.
I would think that a marathon runner feels awfully alone – until they are near the end. Sometimes the Christian life can feel lonely as well. It can seem sometimes like you are running against the grain. And, sometimes, we near our finish line and find the path unoccupied – no one to cheer us on to the finish.
That is why we need endurance and encouragement. That is why we need each other – not as cheerleaders but as fellow marathon runners. It means seeing beyond our own immediate needs so that we can serve those who run next to us. Read from Romans chapter fifteen:
We who have strong faith ought to shoulder the burden of the doubts and qualms of others and not just to go our own sweet way. Our actions should mean the good of others – should help them to build up their characters. For even Christ did not choose his own pleasure, but as it is written: "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."
For all those words which were written long ago are meant to teach us today; that when we read in the scriptures of the endurance of men and of all the help that God gave them in those days, we may be encouraged to go on hoping in our own time.
May the God who inspires men to endure, and gives them a Father's care, give you a mind united towards one another because of your common loyalty to Jesus Christ. And then, as one man, you will sing from the heart the praises of God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So open your hearts to one another as Christ has opened his heart to you, and God will be glorified. (Verses 1-7)
Unlike in a marathon, the strong do not simply pass by the weak. The strong Christian slows down to give strength and encouragement to the weak. A Christian marathon is more about finishing together. By helping and encouraging one another to endure, all of our characters will be built upon the solid rock foundation of Christ Jesus – who did the same when he walked the earth.
And the Christian marathon – the faith marathon began at the beginning of time and will continue forever. When we read stories in the Bible – Old and New Testaments – we gain encouragement from those who ran before us. These records, from Adam to John of Revelation, are living proof of the great cloud of witnesses that the letter to the Hebrews tells us about (12:1ff).
All of these things inspire us to unity in our common loyalty to Jesus Christ. As we run together, often against the flow of the world, we bond together as followers of the Way. We open our hearts to one another, and we join in the praise of our Creator.
May God be glorified through this all!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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