Luke 18:9-14, 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18
Running is a big thing these days. To be a good runner one must do the right training. Many go in for the right gear, especially shoes, and all the latest knowledge. Exercise, diet and sleep are much more important. Some people are so keen to win that they are prepared to cheat but no runner who cheats ought ever to win the prize.
A runner who lives for God
In 2 Timothy 4, Paul likens the Christian life to a race and he says four things of himself:
‘I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, I have kept the faith and I will receive the prize’. What does he mean and what does it mean for us?
Are you into running? My friend, David, runs races so I interviewed him to get an insider view on running. David tells me that he is more of a jumper and most of his running is to keep him fit for jumping. He is also competitive and likes to be the best he can be at what he does.
“I have done my best in the race”
Paul has done his best to live for God with what God has given him. He has not tried to be someone he’s not and he hasn’t cheated. He knows where he stands in relation to God and so he is thankful to God, reliant on God for everything and seeks to draw closer to God as he goes along. He hasn’t sat down mid-race, he hasn’t used a bicycle or taken a shortcut. In fact he’s maintained that there are no shortcuts. Anything that looks like a shortcut or an easy-out is in fact a different race. So we have to be on the right track and we have to run the best we can.
What’s in the Christian life; what are the distinctives of the Christian? The essence is trusting God for life now and for ever and with that, developing a very close friendship with God. So Christians read and obey the Bible, talk with God and hear God speak to them. They make time to do this frequently as well as conversing with God while doing other things. The Christian’s character becomes more and more like Jesus’ and what the Christian does becomes more and more like what Jesus would do.
“I have run the full distance”
Paul has endured the long and tough race without cheating or resting. He hasn’t resorted to performance-enhancing drugs. Those who use drugs leave it to a chemical to do what they must do themselves – which is run consistently and with perseverance. There is no substitute for living a consistent devotional life with God.
For a runner there is a pain barrier to get through. I asked David about getting tired and giving up. He said he is often tempted to drop out especially when he knows he isn’t making the grade he set himself before the race started. He uses psychology, telling himself things like, “I’ve come this far and I’m not stopping.” “I’m past half way and the shorter distance is to the finish line.” “I know I can do it.”
It is like that for Christians, too, as sometimes it is tough going. We get tempted to give up. But we learn to remind ourselves various things. As Peter answered Jesus once, “Where else can we go.” There is no other race worth running. We can’t do it in our own strength but God gives us strength – (2 Timothy 4:17) – what he did for Paul there he does for all his friends. And we also have one another to encourage us along and lift our flagging spirits.
“I have kept the faith”
Let’s think about Jesus’ parable for a moment. To us the Pharisees are the villains, but it is important to realise that in the time of Jesus they were the heroes. These were the people who treated the Scriptures with the greatest possible seriousness, and who were determined to do God’s will in every area of life. They had worked out that there were 613 divine commands and they discussed endlessly how these should be obeyed. If anyone was going to be saved, surely it was them! There could be no hope for the tax collector, considered a traitor to his people and nation, a collaborator with the Gentile oppressors!
But Jesus turns people’s expectations upside down. As he tells it there is no doubting the Pharisee’s dedication or his sincerity. But somehow there is something seriously wrong. His main concern is to compare himself (favourably, of course) with others. Moreover, he has no sense at all of having fallen short of what God required of him. In contrast, the tax collector is all too aware of his sins. He has no thought of what others may think about him, beating his breast. His one concern is that God might have mercy on him. Jesus says that it is this man whom God the Judge will declare to be righteous!
Paul was a pharisee and it was his fanatical desire that all Jews serve God the right way that drove him to persecute the church. After he met the risen Jesus Paul realised that salvation is not gained by obeying all the laws and doing all the right things but by faith in Jesus who fulfilled all the laws and provided for our forgiveness.
“I will receive the prize”
David says he doesn’t run for prizes – only winners get prizes. He runs for the satisfaction of doing well and achieving what he set out to do. The Christian life is not a competition one with another. We may challenge ourselves and seek to do better than we did last time but we’re never competing against any other person and we don’t compare ourselves with anyone either. The Boston marathon was a couple of weeks ago; the Auckland half-marathon is a week away. In a lot of these events these days every runner gets at least a certificate of participation to prove they ran the distance, or a copy of your photograph with your time on it. Likewise, in the Christian race there is a prize for every runner, not just a medal for the fastest.
The apostle Paul looks forward to a ‘crown of righteousness’ from the Lord (2 Timothy 4:8). Is he, then, like the Pharisee? No, for Paul knows that his righteous standing before God depends not on his own good deeds or obedience to God’s law, but depends solely on God’s unmerited favour and what Christ has achieved for sinners by his sacrificial death and victorious resurrection. Like the psalmist, his strength is in God (Psalm 84:5) as he walks the pilgrim way (2 Timothy 4:17). He gives the glory to God, and does not boast about his own achievements as the Pharisee does. He knows that it is those who are ‘confident of their own righteousness and look down on everybody else’ (Luke 18:9) whom God is unwilling to accept.
Conclusion
For a truly dedicated runner there is no cheating, and you can’t win just by looking good or knowing the right things – you have to ‘just do it’ and run. It is the same for someone who decides they want to ‘run as a Christian’, you just have to run and rely on God’s strength to help you to stay in the race to the end.