Finishers Are Winners

Finishers Are Winners

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”    —2 Timothy 4:7

A runner from Kenya, Hyvon Ngetich, took third place at the Austin Marathon in February 2015. It is noteworthy just to complete a marathon, but Ngetich was leading the female pack until she got within 1.2 miles of the finish line, and her body began to shut down. Race volunteers and nurses rushed to her side to give her aid, but she refused knowing their assistance would disqualify her. She crawled the last 400 meters on bloodied hands and knees to take third place.

After completing the race, Ngetich was rushed to a medical tent, where she was treated for dangerously low blood sugar. The race director was so impressed by her determination that he adjusted the prize money so she received as much as the second place winner. She may not have come in first place but was a true winner in many persons’ minds.

In most children’s sports leagues today everyone who finishes the season gets a trophy regardless of the record. My grandchildren have received participation trophies that are twice as large as some of my most prized trophies from high school. Every Special Olympics athlete has a hugger who greets them with a congratulatory embrace for competing, “Well done! Way to go!”

In the kingdom of God, winning and losing is not as important as finishing faithfully. The first shall be last and the last first (Matthew 19, 20). Those who lose their life for the kingdom shall find it; they are the true winners (Matthew 10, 16). Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).  Because he had kept the faith to the end and finished the race, he will be rewarded a crown of righteousness.

Each letter to the seven churches in chapters two and three in the book of Revelation, ends with the challenge and promise, “He who overcomes.” In three of the letters (to churches at Smyrna, Thyatira, Philadelphia), overcoming or being victorious is further defined as, “be faithful until death,” and “hold fast what you have” until the end (2:10, 2:25, 3:11). God’s promise of reward is not to the fastest and brightest but to the one who finishes faithfully.

In life, we spend way too much time looking around to see how well everyone else is doing or to see the expression on their faces telling us how well they think we are doing. Hebrews 12 urges us to run the race with perseverance fixing our eyes upon Jesus (12:1-2). If we focus our eyes on Jesus, we are reminded that He has completed not only His race but ours, also. On the Cross, Jesus cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). With Jesus’ last breath, He paid the price for our sins and offered salvation to everyone who will believe.

As you journey through this life, you don’t have to compare yourself, your accomplishments, and your family to anyone else. God is not concerned with who finishes first or last, only that we remain faithful to the end that we overcome through Jesus’ sacrifice and love for us. Jesus tells each of us to “be of good cheer” because He has “overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Are you overwhelmed, today? Do you feel you are falling behind in the rat race of this world? Take heart! Jesus loves you. He has overcome the world and promises to be with you to the very end. Take His hand and finish the race that is before you. You are a winner in God’s eyes.