running the race

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   Back when I lived in Ft.Worth, Texas I ran in a lot of races like 5K and 10K runs.  It was something I enjoyed a lot and I have been thinking about entering another one since I started running again about 5 weeks ago.  I'm not sure that I could even finish a race right now, probably not, but in a few weeks or possibly months I will be there.  It reminded me of an incident that took place in Dallas around Halloween in 1991.
    I was in an event in downtown Dallas on a rainy fall morning when several hundred runners including myself took off at the gun to run a 5K race.  We were all running uphill in the rain when someone fell. With all of us bunched close together some people actually ended up getting stepped on by those behind them.  Fortunately, I didn't fall.  Imagine training all that time only to get trampled on when the gun goes off at the beginning of the race.  I would be pretty upset at getting trampled on by my fellow runners.
   Stuff happens during a race.  I can remember other times seeing runners drop out of a race because they ran too hard and collapsed on the side of the road.  Medics would come and help them get to the first aid tent until they recovered.  Fortunately, that never happened to me either.  Mainly because I always started off slow. 
    Life is also like a race.  Some people start off well, but don't finish well.  Others, act as though it is a sprint and soon lose their energy and drop out.  Others of us, know that it is marathon and there is no credit given to those who don't finish well.  Paul put it this way in 2 Timothy 2:5 "And also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules."  So, what are the rules?
    First, let me say, I think we like to be the ones who make up our own rules.  That is the central idea behind the temptations that Satan offered to Eve in the garden.  He said, "Did God really say?"  and the trouble went from there.  We like to think of ourselves as in charge.  But, last I heard, God is the one on the throne of the universe and it isn't a double seater.  In other words, he really doesn't need my help.  So, the first thing that we have to remember is that they are His rules and not ours.
     While there are a lot of commandments in the Bible to follow and reflet upon.  I think one of the most important is found in Luke 6:31 when Jesus said, "And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way."  Think about what kind of world we would live in if people actually did that.  If we all stopped and considered our neighbors as important as ourselves.  How many wars would start if we thought that way.  If we all acted out of the desire to be a blessing to someone else? 

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