As I start a new year at a new school, I must reintroduce myself to everyone I meet. My name is Aubree Nelson, I’m 19, and I ran cross-country in high school. But the truth is that I’ve run cross-country races since the day I was born. I’ve run the race of being bullied, left, and hated; and I’ve run in a million other races in our cross country. Our country that is built on the cross, on the things Jesus taught us and people who loved him, and our country that is full of people who’ve forgotten who He is.
Some people today seem to think that they can take the cross for their heart and some meds for their head, but they have yet to realize that their soul is dead. In John 6:53 (ESV), Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” Our cross country has forgotten that Jesus is not a pill you can take when you need help, only to forget about him until the next time you’re in peril. Jesus is the source of life for your soul, and nothing else can satisfy. So, the question that sticks out to me is this: how can we make sure we have life in Jesus, and how can we show others to do the same?
Well, any cross-country runner knows that the middle miles are the most challenging part of any race. In the beginning, you feel full of energy and optimism. And towards the end, you know you don’t have far to go, so your motivation is at an all-time high. But the middle miles- those are the real valleys. Your legs start getting tired, you start feeling out of breath, and it gets really easy for me to take the foot off the gas and preserve energy for the last mile. But the more I think about it, the middle part of anything becomes the hardest. It’s the minute you’re too far from the start to go back and too far away to see the end that we start to get complacent and passive.
Here’s the thing, though: if we can push hard in the middle sections, the hard parts, we’ll finish our race with much better results. The middle miles of life are where you’ve got to buckle down and get energy from the source. As easy as it feels to draw strength from other people, past accomplishments, or anything else the world has to offer, if we want to make it through the middle miles, we have to trust in the Lord to be our strength on the path that he’s set before us. It’s where we have to remember the goal, remember the feeling of finishing with excellence; that’s what gets us through the middle miles.
We don’t survive the middle by rewriting the story; we survive it by anchoring our hope to the One who has already scripted the perfect ending. There will come a day when no one will be stuck in the middle, with no more tears and no more pain (Revelation 21:3-5).
As much as I wish I didn’t have to run these middle miles, I find joy in remembering that the Lord has scripted my ending- an ending where I don’t have to run anymore. We can try to rewrite the hard parts by giving half or no effort, but we truly endure by giving our all to God and trusting in his ending. Now, there’s one more thing that every cross-country runner knows. When the people around you pick up the pace, so do you.
So, to answer the question from the beginning, the way to make sure that you have true life in Jesus is to depend on him in every aspect of your race. The beginning, the middle, and through the line. Some parts of your race will feel easier than others but always keep your eyes on the end of the race, which my script says is eternity with the one who creates me. And if you want the people around you to run their race better, ask the Lord for strength and pick up the pace. They’re sure to follow.
Lord, would you give strength to all of us who are running in a cross-country race? Remind us of our need to depend on you, the only way, the only truth, and the only life. Help us to be a light, an encouragement, and an example to those around us. Draw us near to you, increase our faith and our wisdom. All the praise and all the glory to you forever and ever. Amen.
(Revelation 21:4, NIV) ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
