Chapter 1 - Rejoice, we conquer!
At this point, I am not done with the book. There are many things to meditate on, causing me to take it slow, but the truth is I am not being obedient to God in the amount of time I spend in this book and in His Word. So while I would love to share my thoughts about the part I'm reading now, I feel like I need to go back and start at the beginning.
I enjoyed reading about Pheidippides and how it might have felt to run the 26 miles to announce a victory. My thoughts are filled with the images of the generals, rested and relaxed, asking Pheidippides to run the 26 miles to announce their victory just so a feast can be ready. The rested generals asked a battle-tired soldier to run 26 miles in less than 4 hours. I want to yell at them -- "Do it yourself!"
The race was hard. Pheidippides did well at first, but ignored signs of trouble. I don't know if he could have rectified anything, but I still want to keep in mind that there were signs.
Sammy says on p. 11 about his marathon race that "I was doing this for the glory of God--and the memory of my dear friend, Ken Leeburg. I knew I couldn't quit. But it was so hard. At a half a mile from the finish, I hurt so badly, I wept."
Sammy didn't quit. He hurt. But he didn't quit. On p. 12 he says, "'This was the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life,' I said. 'I didn't run as fast as I hoped. But I decided that speed was not the most important thing, but finishing the race was what mattered.'"
I am concerned with appearances. Does that relate to speed in a race? I constantly feel judged. Is that similar to being concerned with speed in a race? If I concentrate on finishing, then I would look ever to Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith, on whom I must desperately depend. Also, I bet I have to expect the pain.
