Faith in the Race
Blog / Produced by The High Calling
Each fall, thousands of people gather in New York City at the Verrazano Bridge, which runs from Staten Island into Manhattan. Five hours later, most of them complete the New York City Marathon.
Across the United States, the marathon is a popular symbol of fitness and ultimate accomplishment. Runners train hard, and we marvel at their strength and endurance. The marathon is also a metaphor for life: this long, challenging journey of great happiness and great adversity.
As I sat in Sterling's hospital room shortly before he died, the image that came to me was the runner finishing a marathon. Seven years earlier, Sterling had skied down a mountain and suffered a horrible accident. In an instant, a strong, hardworking man was a quadriplegic, flat on his back.
For seven years, Sterling fought. He endured the pain, accepted the limitations. He dealt with the grief. Through it all, he managed to remain the kind, gentle soul he had been all his life—sensitive, caring, devoted to family and friends.
As a man of faith, Sterling at times wrestled with questions of suffering and God. He cried out in the pain. He prayed. Others prayed. Nothing changed, but he did not give up.
I have seen many people like Sterling face catastrophic health issues or other great adversity. I am convinced that faith in God is the single most important element that enabled them to endure with courage and hope. I have seen such faith, and I have seen its absence. Faith makes a profound difference.
In the New Testament letter of Hebrews, the writer speaks of a long list of heroes who "by faith" endured great adversity. At the end of that list, the writer urges us to imagine these heroes—people like Abraham and Moses—as a “great cloud of witnesses” along the marathon route, cheering us on as we now run the race. I imagine Sterling there too:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (12:1-2).
According to the Bible, the greatest source of courage and strength to run the daily race of life is faith in the God who created and loves us.
The night my friend Sterling died, the words of the apostle Paul came to mind: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).
What do those words mean for your life?
Across the United States, the marathon is a popular symbol of fitness and ultimate accomplishment. Runners train hard, and we marvel at their strength and endurance. The marathon is also a metaphor for life: this long, challenging journey of great happiness and great adversity.
As I sat in Sterling's hospital room shortly before he died, the image that came to me was the runner finishing a marathon. Seven years earlier, Sterling had skied down a mountain and suffered a horrible accident. In an instant, a strong, hardworking man was a quadriplegic, flat on his back.
For seven years, Sterling fought. He endured the pain, accepted the limitations. He dealt with the grief. Through it all, he managed to remain the kind, gentle soul he had been all his life—sensitive, caring, devoted to family and friends.
As a man of faith, Sterling at times wrestled with questions of suffering and God. He cried out in the pain. He prayed. Others prayed. Nothing changed, but he did not give up.
I have seen many people like Sterling face catastrophic health issues or other great adversity. I am convinced that faith in God is the single most important element that enabled them to endure with courage and hope. I have seen such faith, and I have seen its absence. Faith makes a profound difference.
In the New Testament letter of Hebrews, the writer speaks of a long list of heroes who "by faith" endured great adversity. At the end of that list, the writer urges us to imagine these heroes—people like Abraham and Moses—as a “great cloud of witnesses” along the marathon route, cheering us on as we now run the race. I imagine Sterling there too:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (12:1-2).
According to the Bible, the greatest source of courage and strength to run the daily race of life is faith in the God who created and loves us.
The night my friend Sterling died, the words of the apostle Paul came to mind: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).
What do those words mean for your life?
Ethics is about knowing and doing what is good or right, and workplace ethics is about knowing and doing what is good or right at work. For the Christian, this means applying the Bible and other resources of the Christian faith to help decide and do what is ethical or moral at work.