Fix our eyes

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. –Hebrews 12:1-2a (NIV)

When my oldest son was in junior high school, he ran cross country. I went to one of his meets in Berryville, Arkansas, where I saw something I’ll never forget. There was a runner there who had cerebral palsy. I don’t remember which school he ran for, but I remember that young man. It was a cool, cloudy day, misting rain. Since you cannot see the whole course at a cross country meet, my wife and I took a spot about three-quarters of the way through the two-mile route to cheer on our son. After he passed, we debated whether to make our way to the finish line, but decided to stay put and watch for other members of his team.

That’s when I saw him. With a determined look on his face, the runner fought his flailing limbs to complete each step. He was not fast, but he was persistent. In the section of the race where we had set up to watch, there was a turn around a tree on a slight downhill grade. The boy slipped on the wet grass and fell at one point. Another runner paused as if to help, but the young man waved him off. He labored back to his feet, mud on his uniform, one knee skinned a bit. He took a deep breath and continued the race. I couldn’t help myself – with tears in my eyes, I began to clap and cheer for this runner whose name I never knew.

My wife and I hustled over to the finish line now. I had to watch the young man finish. He did so, to the celebratory whoops of his coach and teammates. He didn’t have the best time, but there was no doubt he was a winner. Muddied and bloodied, he finished his course that day.

The Christian life is not a short sprint down a level, well-defined track. It is a long cross country race in sketchy weather, up and down slippery hills, looking for route markers in groves of trees on a trail we haven’t traveled before. We fight against our flesh, which continues to fail us. What keeps us on course? Like the young man who inspired me that day, we focus on the finish and that reunion with our coach and teammates. When we fall down, we get back up, take our deep breath, and get back to it. Never give up, y’all. It’s worth the fight.

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 3:13b-14 (NIV)