August 12, 2024
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” CEB
When I was a Penn State P.E. major, we all had a semester of track. We high jumped, long jumped, threw shotputs, discus and javelins, ran relays, sprints, long distances and jumped hurdles. Hurdles just about did me in. I could run with the best of my classmates (at least when I was holding a hockey stick and chasing a ball) but leaping at full speed over hurdles that ranged from 3 – 3.25 feet in height was not complimentary to my stature. Thankfully we didn’t need to excel at each event but needed to understand the techniques and how to teach those techniques to students.
I hope you caught some of the track events at the Olympics. It was entertaining to hear the grunts and yelps of the field events like the shot put, discus, and hammer throw. It was inspiring to see people clear record heights in pole vault and high jump. But the thing that most amazed me were the men’s and women’s hurdles. Each athlete had their own rhythm of a steps between hurdles, never changing their pace or losing concentration even when they knock a hurdle over. Once they cleared the final hurdle they seemed to shift into high gear to sprint to the finish line, leaning forward as far as they could to be cross the line first. Once they crossed, they gather together with those they were racing to shake hands, give hugs and congratulate each other for finishing the race.
The Apostle Paul used sports metaphors in his letters to urge Jesus followers to run their spiritual race with discipline, practice, and intensity, never giving up, pressing toward the goal in spite of challenges. They, and we, are to forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead, pressing on toward the goal, the prize of the call of God in Christ Jesus.
Don’t let the past impede your race, press on, don’t give up. The runners are in this together, just waiting to celebrate our race. ~ Anne
Wayfinding 