When Mary Magdalene reported to Simon Peter and
the disciple that Jesus Christ loved that she could not find the Lord’s Body
that had been placed in the tomb, they both ran to the tomb to verify her
words. The Bible recorded in John 20:1-8 that they both ran together but the
other disciple whom Christ loved outran Peter and arrived at the tomb first
without entering. I could imagine the excitement, disbelief, shock and so many
emotions that could be flooding their minds at that moment. But something
curious happened; the disciple whom Jesus loved got to the tomb but did not
enter in until Peter entered the tomb chamber before he could. That was quite
distressing. He had run so hard yet he could not enter until another from
behind entered first to ascertain that there was no danger! Praise God he later
entered! So many times we had pursued the Lord concerning several matters but
just when we were about to go in deeper, so many develop cold feet and draw
back. Friend, it is not how fast you can run this race, but the question at the
end would be: did you finish and in what manner did you run? No matter how
comfortable we may get or the numerous trials we go through, we must finish the
race and finish well. The course set before us on this earth is filled with
trials and the Bible encourages us to endure the trials, pass the tests therein
then we would be qualified to get the Victor’s Crown (James 1:12). Several had
cut short the race as a result of stupendous breakthroughs or challenges that
seemed overwhelming. Thus, they have pulled to the side of the road unable to
continue the race. Paul declared he had one purpose: to run the race and finish
the course set before him so as to win the Victor’s Crown. In the just
concluded Olympic Games in Britain, an athlete was asked what kept him going
when he knew he had come last and the other competitors in the event had since
finished their course. He replied, ‘his country did not send him to stop his
event half way but to finish it’! This answer may sound foolish but that was
the simple truth. Each athlete was sent to the Event by all participating
countries to finish their course no matter the conditions. But we may argue
however, that each athlete must go there to win. Now, if winning no matter the
cost is the objective of the games, then the spirit of sportsmanship will be
killed and the competitive spirit will be taken to a destructive level which
will not augur well for the games on the long run. The lesson for us as
children of God is that we must run the race, finish it and finish well! This
race is not about who is the greatest, most popular, biggest, richest, fastest
or smartest rather it is about who finished the race according to the rules
(standard of God): “Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned
unless he competes according to the rules.” 2 Timothy 2:5. If it was not ran according
to the standard of God such will be disqualified even if he thinks he has
finished the race. Settle in your hearts to run the race set before you
according to the standard of God and to finish well. God bless you.
Have you ever visited a quarry site and considered the process the rocks are subjected to before they become dressed stones to be used? If the stones could talk they will have a story to tell about their experiences. As children of God we go through diverse experiences and we wonder if we will indeed survive them. Sometimes we wonder why our gracious and compassionate Father would allow such to befall us considering who we are in Him and what we are doing in His vineyard. The Scripture that should readily come to our minds in such circumstances is God’s assurance when He said: “I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire and the flame will not burn you ” (Isaiah 43:2). This Scripture assures us that through the experiences of flames and waters, God is always by our side to see us through. Thus, it is necessary for us to go through the...
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