“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.”
Acts 20:24
When I read this verse, I can’t help but think of the story of the origination of the marathon. As you may know, the tradition of a 26.2 mile race, called a marathon, began with the legend of a Greek man named Pheidippides who ran over 25 miles from a battle near a town called Marathon to Athens in order to announce the defeat of the Persian army. As the legend goes, he arrived in Athens with the news – one word, “Victory!” It was all he could manage before he keeled over and died.
That man had a very specific and important purpose. He was running to tell frightened people of Athens that their army had defeated their enemy, that they were safe and that they were free from the threat of the Persians. He ran with one goal, to reach Athens with that news. Even to the extent that he was on the verge of death, he kept running. It was enough to get him to his destination and to deliver his message, and only then did he die.
This verse reminds me of that story obviously because of the words “finish the race,” which immediately brings to mind footraces like marathons. But the point Paul is trying to make actually lines up really well with the Marathon story. Pheidippides had one goal – to deliver the message of victory. He didn’t care if he lived or died, he simply needed to complete that task. In the same way, Paul says that his life means nothing to him, whether he lives or dies, the only thing that matters is completing the task that the Lord gave him, to deliver the message of victory through Jesus.
As Christians, it should be our only goal to use our life to deliver that message. Beyond that, just as Paul said, our life is worth nothing. The task of delivering the good news is the only thing that gives us purpose in this world, otherwise why wouldn’t we want to just leave this world and move on to heaven? But we have a purpose here, we have a goal to accomplish. We must run our race to deliver the good news, victory over death and sin and Satan through Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Prayer:
Father,
Thank you for the purpose you have given us in this world and the assurance that we will have eternal life with you when we’ve finished our race. Help us to stay focused on that goal, not slowing down or turning aside for anything, but running full speed toward our destination to deliver the message of victory in Jesus.
In His Name,
Amen.
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