Finish Well

 

My first three years in college, I ran cross-country.  The courses varied from three to four miles long.  Some, like the course at Bryan college, was two laps around the campus.  Others, Like Berry college, was only half-way across the campus.  Some were on grass, some were on asphalt, and others a combination of the two.  We had strap tee-shirts, flimsy shorts, no socks, and light-weight shoes because minimal weight was important.  The only extra weight was the pinned-on number.  Cross-country was not a spectator sport.  Only a few people showed up, most of them relatives or friends of the runners.  Most of the spectators were waiting at the finish line because that’s where it counted.  Oh, there was some cheering at the start, but most of the cheering was at the finish, because that’s where it was important.  Everyone started out about the same.  Some might have a slight advantage starting at the front of the pack of runners, but within a few paces, the pack thinned out and any advantage that you had, you made for yourself.  But towards the end of the race, as the finish line came into sight, you had to summon up a little burst of energy from deep inside for the finish line.  You had to have a little “kick” left at the end of the race so you could finish strong.  Hebrews 12:1&2, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Hey, finish strong.  Don’t stumble, don’t get distracted, don’t give up; finish strong.