requires a massive effort
Max Lucado explains that “The word race is from the Greek agon, from which we get the word agony. The Christian’s race is not a jog but rather a demanding and grueling, sometimes agonizing race. It takes a massive effort to finish strong.”
The wall occurs when your body has depleted itself of all its supply of energy, stored throughout the body as fat, and begins to devour muscle. In an instant every nerve and muscle screams out in agony; you have this overwhelming need to quit, to give up, to remove the pain. You tell yourself that there is no shame in quitting, after all, no one forced you to do this, is it really worth the effort.
At 21 miles I was on pace to finish in a bit over 3 hours. I finished in 5-1/2 hours. The final 5.5 miles took almost as long as the first 21 miles. But I finished. And what I discovered in finishing was that in order to finish the race one must take the necessary steps, endure the agony that presents itself, and never quit.
Life itself is a race where the goal is to come face-to-face with Jesus, to receive the reward of eternal life. It is almost always filled with agony and pain that requires “a massive effort to finish strong.” Many never even take the first step; they simply sit on the sidelines and watch those who have chosen to run the race. Others start but then, when they hit the wall, they quit; the pain is just too much for them to continue. They didn’t think it would be so difficult; the agony simply isn’t worth the reward.
Max Lucado further writes “By contrast, Jesus’ best work was his final work, and his strongest step was his last step. Our Master is the classic example of one who endured….He could have quit the race. But he didn’t.”
To see God you must run the race, endure the pain, and never quit. You can choose to watch, choose to quit, or choose to endure the agony and run the race. The choice is yours.
