Running the Race — TDW Kids

The Race Set Before Us

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Paul often talked about the Christian life as a race. A race has a starting line, a track and a finish line. The Christian race starts the day you trust Jesus, and it lasts your whole life.

Saved, then running. We do not run to become God's children. “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). Jesus puts us on the track, and then we run for Him.

A race set before us. “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). God has a race marked out for each of His children. Your race is not the same as anyone else's.

A cheering crowd. Hebrews says we are “surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). These are the faithful people of Hebrews 11, like Noah, Abraham and Moses, who ran their races before us.

Drop the weights. “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us” (Hebrews 12:1). No runner races in a heavy coat. Some things slow us down, and sin trips us up.

Eyes on Jesus. We run “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Runners who keep looking around lose speed. We keep our eyes on Jesus.

Jesus ran first. Jesus, “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). He finished His race, and now He helps us finish ours.

Keep going. Paul wrote to some believers, “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 5:7). They had started well, but false teaching had tripped them up.

Pressing on. Paul said he forgot what was behind him and pressed on toward the goal (Philippians 3:13-14). Past mistakes do not have to stop your race. Jesus forgives, and you can get up and keep running.

Strength for the race. “They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). God gives new strength to those who wait on Him.

Every lap counts. “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23). Homework, chores and kindness can all be part of your race.

What we learn. The Christian life is a long race, not a quick sprint. We run with Jesus' help and with our eyes on Him.

What to do. Think of one weight that slows you down, like too much screen time or a bad habit. Ask Jesus to help you lay it aside this week.

Paul's command to run in 1 Corinthians 9:24 has a partner passage in Hebrews 12:1-2. Together they show what the race is, what hinders it and who makes it possible.

The contest. The word for race in Hebrews 12:1 is agōn (say: ah-GOHN), a contest or struggle. English gets the word agony from it. The race is not a stroll; it takes effort, and some days it hurts.

The witnesses. The “cloud of witnesses” are the faithful of Hebrews 11. Their lives bear witness that God keeps His word. Their stories urge us to keep going when we are tired.

Weight and sin. A weight is not always sinful; it is anything that slows us down. Sin is worse. It “so easily ensnares us,” like a long robe tangling a runner's legs.

Endurance. “Run with endurance” means steady effort over a long distance. The Christian life is more like a marathon than a hundred-yard dash.

Author and finisher. Jesus is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). He started our faith and He will complete it. Paul says the same in Philippians 1:6: the One who began a good work in you will finish it.

Galatians 5:7. “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” False teachers had told the Galatians they must keep the law to be saved. Paul answered that “a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). Adding works to grace trips a runner.

Philippians 3:12-14. Paul said he had not yet arrived, but he pressed on toward the goal for the prize of God's upward call in Christ Jesus. He forgot what was behind, both his successes and his failures.

Isaiah 40:31. “They shall run and not be weary.” The strength comes from waiting on the Lord, which means trusting and depending on Him.

John 4:34. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” Jesus ran with purpose all the way to the cross.

Running together. Hebrews 12 was written to a church, not to one lonely runner. Believers help each other keep going. When a friend in Christ is tired or discouraged, run beside them, pray for them and remind them that Jesus finishes what He starts.

Application. Every runner needs a plan. Daily Bible reading, prayer and time with other believers keep you on the track. Choose one habit to start this week.

The Crown That Lasts

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Winners at the games near Corinth got a crown made of leaves. Within a few days the leaves were dry and brown. Paul said Christians run for something much better.

Two crowns. “Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown” (1 Corinthians 9:25). Perishable means it falls apart. Imperishable means it lasts forever.

The gift comes first. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Eternal life is a gift, not a prize we win.

Gift or paycheck? “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt” (Romans 4:4). If we could earn heaven, it would be a paycheck. God gives it free.

Then the reward. Jesus also rewards His children for how they lived for Him. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). At the games, the judges sat on a raised seat and handed out the prizes.

Not a punishment. For believers, that day is not about being punished. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Jesus already took our punishment on the cross.

Paul's finish. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul wrote this near the end of his life.

A crown waiting. “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day” (2 Timothy 4:8).

Not just for Paul. The crown is “not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8). Every believer who loves Jesus and longs for Him to come back can receive it.

Nothing wasted. “Your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Nothing you do for Jesus is ever wasted.

Do not quit. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).

Back to Jesus. Many Christians see the elders in Revelation 4:10, who lay their crowns before God's throne, as a picture of what we will do with our rewards. We will give them back to the One who helped us run.

What we learn. Salvation is a free gift. Rewards are Jesus' kind way of saying well done to His children.

What to do. Do one kind thing this week that nobody else sees. “Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:4).

Paul sets two crowns side by side in 9:25. One withers within days; the other lasts forever. To understand the second, keep the gift of salvation and the reward of faithful service each in its right place.

Imperishable. The word is aphthartos (say: AF-thar-toss), unable to decay. Peter uses the same idea for the inheritance kept in heaven for believers, which cannot spoil or fade (1 Peter 1:4).

The judgment seat. At the games the judges sat on a raised platform where winners were named. Paul uses that word in 2 Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” It is a place of reward for believers, because “there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

Gift, not wage. Eternal life is “the gift of God” (Romans 6:23). To the one who “does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). Rewards never buy what grace already gave.

Built on the foundation. In 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 Paul says Christ is the only foundation. Each believer's work will be tested by fire. If someone's work is burned up, he loses his reward, yet he himself is still saved.

The crown of righteousness. In 2 Timothy 4:7-8 the “righteous Judge” gives the crown to “all who have loved His appearing.” Longing for Jesus' return is a mark of people who are running His race.

Grace behind the running. Even our faithful running is God's grace at work. Paul wrote, “I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Not for applause. The crowds at Isthmia cheered the winner, but his wreath withered within days. Paul ran for the approval of Jesus, not people. That is why he could keep running when he was mocked, beaten or left alone.

Hidden service. Jesus said, “Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:4). What no one else notices, God sees.

Crowns laid down. Many Christians see Revelation 4:10, where the elders lay their crowns before the throne, as a picture of what believers will do with every reward: give it back to the Lord in worship.

Application. Ask yourself what you are really running for. Trophies, grades and likes fade like a crown of leaves. Faithfulness to Jesus lasts. Choose one hidden way to serve Him this week.

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