Finish The Race

This morning I was reading in the Acts chapter 20 and I came to the Apostle Paul's writing about his call from God to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his aim in life to complete the call that God had given to him.

“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Notice that Paul, himself, was not making the plan to go into hostile areas to preach a message that the people opposed of. No, it was the Holy Spirit of God that was compelling him to go and to preach the Gospel message. Likewise, Paul was confident that he would be arrested, persecuted, or even killed for preaching the message of Jesus - and yet he still went freely. 

I am reminded of many Christian brothers and sisters that face a similar struggle to fulfill that call that God has placed on them. Knowing that hardships and persecutions await, they freely go and fulfill this call. 

Whatever the call is that God has placed on your life, you are to complete the task the Lord Jesus has given to you - the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. 

As I considered this passage, I was reminded of the inaugural women's marathon in the 1984 summer Olympic games held in Los Angles. This video of Gabriela Andersen finishing the marathon reminds me of our call to finish the race, whatever the cost.