Training for the Marathon

Its hard to believe at first something like this could be enjoyable. I am 10 weeks into it, and I have never enjoyed running more. Days like today get me into it even more. Its a Saturday morning. Mist in the air. Just a touch of humidity. Heavy clouds cover. No sun. A soft breeze. Light traffic on the suburban roads. My legs feel good. My lungs are free. My whole body is moving in the rhythm of running. Hillsong United Worship is pumping through my ears. Only the last 3 or so miles does it start to hurt and get hard. The first couple of miles are fast and enjoyable. Its amazing what the human body is capable of. In February I remember running one, maybe two miles, and that was hard. It hurt. Now, that's just a warm up, 10 weeks later. Today, I ran 10.2 miles. It felt good.
Somethings you learn and understand just doing.
Paul uses the analogy of running a race in Scripture, 1 Cor. 9

"24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

I can remember crossing the finish line in the fall of 2006 at the Chicago Marathon. Crowds of strangers line both sides of the finish line. Hundreds of people I did not know cheered for me, and all the other runners crossing the line with me. It took everything I had to finish the race. I probably would not have completed if my friend Sean had not run with me. For the last 9 miles I threw water on my face at each station to try to shake off the exhaustion. Looking back, I know I was not nearly as prepared for the race as I could have been. But I did finish, without walking, I ran the whole thing. In struggling across the finish line, I felt dizzy. My mouth was dry. The bottoms of my feet hurt. That's what I remember most about my body. My feet just hurt. But the moment I crossed that line a stranger, a middle aged woman, maybe the age of my mother, came and placed the medal for the race around my neck, the same medal every runner got for finishing the race.

Something in victory is sweet. Even if victory is just finishing. I find myself training once again, three years later for the same race, and the thrill is even more powerful this time. I have been there, and I want to go back. This time I want to be more prepared, and so I can enjoy the race and not be so exhausted and in pain.
I hope all this running has given me a clearer idea of what Paul is getting at. The strict training I understand more. It will make the race more fun, less painful, usually. Training is not a confining or unpleasant thing. I have a hard time relating to people who say they hate exercising. I vigorously enjoy it. It can be hard to get into it.... if you have been out of game or race for a while. But once you get into it, its fantastic. I feel so much better after completing a long run. There is satisfaction in finishing. The expended energy is replenished systematically by your body. The in a few days you are ready to go longer, faster, and stronger than before.

I think in life, the way described in the NT is similar. Living a life of forgiveness, kindness, and compassion for those around us, leads us to want to do more of the same. It is more enjoyable and fulfilling to live that way, than to live in a way that is unforgiving, unloving or unkind, or uncompassionate. The right way to live is more fulfilling. Just as exercise is more fun, than slothful living. At least, I want to argue that it is that way.
This life in the Spirit that we all who follow Jesus Christ want to live is characterized by many things, some of which are: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control." Gal 5:21-23 For all these qualities we will be judged and rewarded. The sweetness of that reward will far surpass any joy found in the reward of finishing a race here and now. Finishing the marathon and completing that race represents the work and sustained effort day in and day out on the road here, actually running, physically challenging your body and pushing it to its limit. But a reward from God will be representative of your entire life, the sum of our activities, thoughts, actions, and words among people here.
That reward is far more weighty, the medal more glorious and eternally significant. And so we run in such a way to win, to receive this reward, which we can achieve only through the empowering work of the Holy Spirit. What a joy it is!