Glad to see this thread is still going. But mainly, I'm glad to see that so many of you have found running as you walk on with the Lord (or, as in the previous poster's case,
found the Lord as you continued to run).
There are so many parallels between
running and
living the Christian life. I was thinking recently about how endurance and strength are two things a runner works on in their training--or, perhaps, in the case of marathon training, how important "long runs" are in training the body to burn fat as fuel, and how important "tempo runs/intervals" are in training the body to clear out lactic acid buildup in the muscles.
The spiritual counterparts to these activities are, I would say, very similar: By ENDURING--being "in it for the long haul"--we learn to
"lay aside every weight and that sin that does so easily beset us." (Hebrews 12:1) By STRENGTH--being ready to put our faith into practice in every situation that confronts us, no matter how difficult it may seem at the time--we are
"pressing on toward the mark of the high calling" (Philippians 3:14) and learning to
"be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, having on the full armor of God." (Ephesians 6:13) By doing these things, we learn to be OVERCOMERS! ("Marathoners," in a
spiritual sense.)
So keep on keeping on! Press on toward the mark of the high calling! All the while, keep looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.
