ὑπερνικάω

Monday, November 2, 2009

Acts 20:24
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

The journey of life is often referred to as a race, while the process of it is referred to as the good fight of faith.

We are the competitors of this race. It is significant to understand this, because it helps us to get a better picture of what we should focus on in life.

Before a race begins, there will be speculations about each of the contestants. Positive or negative; the crowd will have an idea of who won last year's competition, who is greenhorn of the competition, or who had the worst time record last year.

When the race begins, as the adrenaline gets high, thoughts will form in the minds of spectators; this guy will never catch up, or the one in front is bound to win this race. But as the race goes on, there have been instances where the unsuspecting leader of the race gets overtaken by another competitor. The leader of the race is now a completely unfamiliar face, someone who was not heard of before, and the thoughts in the minds of the spectators change again.

But the moment that everyone looks forward to, ultimately, is the end of the race.

In life people can say things about you, positive or negative comments. Maybe you did not have a good start to life, or maybe you had a very good start. They can bring up your past mistakes, or they can elevate you to a position where you start to feel good about yourself because of what you've done.

While you're running this race, people can form opinions about you too. One mistake can change the impression that people have towards you. Likewise, one good "deed" can make people think very positively about you. These impressions that people have will change based on what you do, or fail to do.

However, these comments do not make a difference. What matters most, ultimately, is the end of the race.