A Marathon

As seen in the HEARTbeat and the Village voice

“A Marathon”

            We can all remember running around the neighborhood as kids, all day long!  We rode our bikes all day long.  We seem to have all the energy in the world to go, as the Old English would say, hither and yon.  Our bodies were little power plants burning through calories like a steam locomotive burned through coal.  Of course, we had breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack, dinner, and then a before bed snack.  We constantly fed the engine because it was necessary.

            Even going all day long with the “pack,” there was always that one kid who was out front and even pulled away.  He or she was the first one to the next site, pedaling their bicycle like a professional.  What gave them the stamina to outpace all the rest of us?

            Physiologists will tell us there are two types of muscles, the fast twitch and the slow twitch types.  The fast twitch burns energy quickly.  They contract quickly to move the body or appendage at great speed, but this type of muscle also builds up what is called “lactic acid” quickly.  This acid is a byproduct of muscle work, and when it accumulates, it is carried away by the blood.  If it builds up at a greater rate than it can be carried away, fatigue sets in.  Sprinters are the prime example of this muscle type.  They can speed down the track for 100 or 200 meters but asking them to run a marathon is out of the question.  Conversely, there are the slow twitch muscle types.  As you might guess, everything in this type of muscle is exactly the opposite of the fast twitch type.  These are the marathon runners, who build up lactic acid very slowly, who don’t grow tired quickly, and who can run mile after mile at what seems like a super-human pace.

            Can we think of our Christian life in these terms?  We certainly can.  We’ve all seen people who give their lives to the Lord, who seem to be on fire in a sprint.  But after a little while the “lactic acid” of struggles and barriers builds up, and they grow tired.  How can we prevent this from happening?

            The Apostle Paul in his writings to the church in Corinth said, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.”  In our Christian walk, the desire by the “Prizegiver” is to run worthy every day.  We are not in a Christian sprint, but in a spiritual marathon.  As with a marathon, there are water tables and food tables all along the way.  We must feed ourselves with the Word to keep our energy levels up and take in the nourishment from the water, which is the Holy Spirit.

            Jesus would tell you to pace yourself and rely on the Holy Spirit to be your “pacer.”  There will be hurdles placed in your path that will have to be overcome.  We can’t win this race alone.  Run as if you are in a marathon, and if run in accordance with scripture and one day we will all hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”