With 28 sports and 300 different events the summer Olympics are an amazing spectacle. Talent, dedication, endurance are required by all. The shortest Olympic event (100 meters) was finished in 9.81 seconds, while the marathon at 26.2 miles long took more than two hours. Truly the marathon is a race of endurance. Last time I checked marathon runners were still dressing light, with running shorts and shirt made to glide smoothly, special shoes that are both strong and light, shoe strings secured against coming loose. They have a goal in mind: run and finish the race to the best of their ability.

As Christians we have a race to run. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. The Apostle Paul once used the same kind of running image in his farewell to the elders from Ephesus. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself if only I may finish my course and the minister that I received from the Lord Jesus. Natural talent, dedication, and drive were on display in Rio. But to run the Christian race, that is our lives as Jesus' disciples, to run our race with endurance you must have in view Jesus Christ the founder and perfecter of faith. Marathon runners, along with training, look out for anything that might impede progress. In a similar sense, Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely. This weight and sin refers to anything that might impede or hinder a Christian's run of faith . . pride, laziness, greed, stubborn insistence on always getting our way, pursuit of pleasure, comfortable life. All of this is part and parcel of our struggle, fundamentally with our own sinful nature. And if that weren't enough, there's all kinds of stuff the devil uses to hinder. Run with endurance? We're in trouble even before the starter gun sounds.

How much trouble are we in? Given that all things belong to God, including our lives, we must run our race according to His perfect Law; in other words we must run perfectly. That alone should get our attention. While at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, many races were run, not one was run perfectly. So how can we run 'perfectly' with endurance when we already deserve to be disqualified before the race begins? Answer . . Look to Christ. He is the founder and perfecter of faith.

Jesus already ran in our place. Jesus ran perfectly from the manger to the cross to the tomb. He kept running until the victory was won. He rose from the dead and secured the prize; a heavenly prize that He shares with those who have faith in Him. And even when we get impeded, even when we fall, our Savior picks us up, dusts us off, and puts us back in the race. Look to Jesus. Your race began in Him and will be complete through Him. And more than encouraging us, Jesus runs alongside us until our race is done.

Pastor Kelly Mitteis