Running the Race

People who are saved can be divided into two groups: those who have sold all their possessions to buy the precious pearl (Matthew 13:46), and those who have agreed to no more than one penny. We are either along in a conscious race toward a great goal—a victor’s prize up above for which sake we deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and race ahead—or our whole relationship to God is only a matter of secondary importance. In the latter case, He is not the King of our heart and we are not along in the race that leads away from sin and the affairs of this world. 2 Timothy 2:4.

Paul ran in a race. He says, “One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal . . . .” Paul is inviting us to run this race when he says, “Join in following my example.” Philippians 3:17. “One thing I do.” This is the kind of decision we must make; we need to sell all our possessions in order to lay hold of the precious pearl. It is a hard and difficult race, and if we do not have a sufficiently clear vision of the glory that is to come, we will soon grow tired and will be forced to give up. But if we follow Jesus’ example, who for the joy that was set before Him, patiently endured the cross without consid­ering the reproach, we will receive strength and grace over our lives to fulfill the stringent requirements of the race. We cannot run in a race wearing an overcoat; we can make even less progress in the race of life, carrying with us sins and other things we have not brought into order. The flesh—with its desires and pas­sions—has to be crucified. Galatians 5:24. Every weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us, has to be laid aside. Hebrews 12:1. We need to be temperate in all things (1 Corinthians 9:25), and run with pa­tience the race that is set before us.

Once we have put off everything, we are ready to put on God’s nature. Now that we are rid of all the burdens and set free from sin, we can run the race with great speed. “But now, having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to sanctification, and the end, everlasting life.” Romans 6:22. The way is now open to grow up in all things unto Him who is the Head; but then we need to run the race as if only one wins the prize, as the one who is willing to sell everything in order to gain everything. The re­quirements for running this race are great and severe, but the victor’s prize that awaits every one who endures is worth all the effort. Our goal is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, who is our fore­runner. Hebrews 6:20.