Run

 As you listen to this, I will hopefully have finished the Cambridge half-marathon, Sunday 5th March (as I record this I haven’t done it yet). I’m currently a little apprehensive about the weather, but we’ll see how it goes.

One thing that they’re planning on doing at the race is having pacers, people who try and run the race at a specific pace so if you’re going for a time of, say, 2 hours, all you have to do is keep up with them and you’ll do it in that time. Now, I’m not actually going to make use of a pacer on Sunday, because they run at a constant speed, and when I run I tend to set out quite quickly when I’m excited and then gradually slow down until at the end I’m hobbling along to the finish line. But I think it’s a really great idea!

A pacer needs to be experienced, they need to know what they’re doing, and to set an example for you – so all you need to do is fix your eyes on them and you’ll get through just fine.

Now, Jesus is a little bit like a pacer for life. The Bible says if we fix our eyes on him, that’s the best way to go through life. In the book of Hebrews we read “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Jesus is our pacer. There’s a race marked out for us and if we fix our eyes on Jesus who died for us, that will get us through!

Now, I don’t know what you think of Jesus, but he’s not someone you can have on the sidelines in your life. Either you’re ignoring him, or you’re fixing your eyes on him, looking at what he’s done for you and letting that set the pace and the rhythm for the life-race we’re all running.

If you’re struggling a little bit in life, whatever’s going on, if the race is a bit hard, if your legs are tired and it all feels overwhelming – well fix your eyes on Jesus. Why not pick up a Bible today and read? Find the bit about where he died on the cross, that’s the best bit. Fix your eyes on Jesus – the ultimate pacer.

Matt Gurtler, 07/03/2023