Meeting the Finish Line.

       My uncle died a few days ago. I didn't know him very well, but sitting in his funeral today I learned alot about what he was like from people who did know him. He loved life. He loved to laugh. The people who knew loved him to no end. I felt like I was the outsider and they were his family. His funeral wasn't sad. He didn't want it to be. He wanted it to be a celebration. It's like running a marathon and finally making it to the finish line. You celebrate when you complete the race. 

       Some races are harder than others. In some cases people speed through the race without a care in the world and make it there first. They live life purely for enjoyment, even if what they are doing isn't right. They want to get the most out of life, but to do that they take the wrong path. They take a shortcut and then their race is over sooner. They take the easy path of parties, drunkenness, and many other things so that they can have the most "fun" possible. This shortcut has long-term effects that bring them to the finish line way sooner than they would like. Their race is over, and they can't change it.

      Others start their race and get lost. They accidentally turn on a path that goes through forests of thorns. They don't understand why their path is so hard to go by. They blame God for their tough path. They don't see that at the end of their path is life. They don't see God's beauty in the hard, ugly times. They go down the path for a while and find a broad path that seems to be filled with flowers and sunshine. It looks good compared to the path that they have been going by for so long. They see others going down this new path and they seem to be so happy. After being on the path of thorns for so long, these people take off running down the broad path. This path is the same shortcut that the other people took. This path leads to CERTAIN DESTRUCTION. 

       Others find themselves on a path that has a few thorns, but they find that there is someone on that path to help them. That person is Jesus. Sure there are thorns along the path from time to time, but with their new found running partner, they can work through them and trust that fighting through the thorns will only strengthen them. They can see the beauty in all things. They know that all things will work out. They know that when they arrive at the finish line, they will be rewarded, and the reward will be great. They not only completed the race, but they won the race. They may not have finished first and there were some struggles along the way, but the reward is great. 

       We need to stay on the path that leads to righteousness. We need to trust God during all of the hard times. He will take care of us. We need to help others find the right path and help them work through the thorns. We need to be able to meet the finish line and have pride in the way our race has been run. So let's run the race, and have it glorify our wonderful father.

He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. Psalm 23:3