A marathon is a twenty-six mile plus, continuous foot race. Champions run the distance in a little over two hours. Our lives, however, are not two hours long or continuous anything. There are many factors that contribute to who we are becoming. Our fate is not decided in a day, but rather in the ups and downs of learning, as we run, walk, and sometimes limp to the finish line. We have many choices to make along the way. Endurance is essential to finishing well.
Interestingly, I suspect I have learned more from my failures in life than I have through my successes. There are always consequences for our choices. Enough negative consequences and hopefully we learn to choose options with better outcomes. I see some people sprint from one failure to the next thing without taking time to reflect. In that scenario, more often than not, failure meets them in the next endeavor too. I have failed and failed at times until I learned to be still and ask my Maker how to no longer repeat my failures, more often than not.
From Childhood, the story of the Tortoise and the Hare has been an inspiration for me. When the two race each other, the slow Tortoise wins. How you ask? The Hare was definitely faster, but he got tired, took a nap, and did not notice the Tortoise passing him. Yes, there are times to speed up and times to rest. But over a lifetime we need to find a measured, marathon rhythm. Learning to be attentive, with our eyes, ears, and hearts, is part of wisdom acquired by trial and error.
The Word of God has something to say about oor lives as well. All of Psalm 139 speaks to our marathon, but verse 16 is good for now. “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (NLT) This does not mean Creator controls us. I like to think it means there are, let’s call them something like. . . guard rails. We might crash into them but they can keep us from getting too far off. (An imperfect analogy.) No matter what, Creator knows all our choices and our hearts.
Freedom to choose always exists. We can deny our Creator completely. There is also, always a door open to return to His loving presence and path. Either way, Creator knows us from before we are born. He is near us whether or not we call out and lean into His Son, our redeemer, Jesus. Creator waits for us along this marathon of life, waiting for us to choose a life with Jesus. The invitation is a standing one.
Eternity with Jesus is Creator’s desired plan for all of us. Our marathon, here and now, with Jesus, offers abundance, adventure and hope. It also includes the power to hear, see and grow. Life surrendered to Jesus, the Living Word of God, seals our eternal destination. Relationship with Him guarantees our redemption from our inevitable failures, promising to be with us through them.
Wherever you are in this marathon of life, Abba invites you to choose Jesus. If you already have a relationship with Jesus, choose more of Jesus. There is always more.
