By Not Known
As we sit in church this morning, a ladies’ 10Km run race will be held elsewhere in Singapore. 10km is not a long race by the standards of some, but it is long enough to need careful preparation and a disciplined approach.
Several Bible passages compare the Christina life to a running race. We are to run to get the prize (1 Cor 9:24). We do this by clearing away everything that blocks our path, not looking backwards and constantly pressing towards the prize which is Christ himself (Heb 12: 1; Phil 3: 13- 14).
How are you running?
We begin the Christian ‘race’ by committing ourselves to Jesus in repentance and faith. But, this is not a short race in which the runner with a powerful leap from the blocks and a dynamic sprint will win. Nor is it a show-race, where we get points for an impressive-looking running outfit.
The race of faith is a life-long marathon. As Eugene Peterson reminds us, we succeed by ‘a long obedience int he same direction.’
How are you going? Have you begun the race of faith, or are you a spectator from the pews? Are you continuing in this race – as disciplined and steady now as when you first began?
How are we running?
The race illustration also applies to us as a church. ORPC has run a long way. Our anniversary events reminds us of some of the milestones. It is right to look back at them in order to thank the Lord for what he has done, as expressed in our anniversary theme.
But our race is not finished. In the words of the anniversary theme, we are also to be committed to what the Lord will do. If we look overly backwards, our milestones become millstones. Our past will trap us and trip us unless it is matched by a forward-looking attitude.
Our anniversary is therefore a summon into God’s future. Let us look back with gratitude and then turn our eyes forward – that we might stretch into God’s future, guided by God’s past.