Moving Forward

At the end of the Athens Olympics in 2004, some of the athletes participated in a special event in which they ran the same path from which the long distance race, “the Marathon”, got its name.  In 490 B.C., a man named Pheidippides ran 26 miles to warn of the impending attack of the Persians upon the country. His route began in the city of Marathon and ended in the city of Sparta.  Not long after he reached Sparta with the message, Pheidippides died.  Just the thought of running 26 miles makes me think about dying.  With that aside, let us think about Pheidippides feat.  No doubt it was an incredible physical accomplishment, but I want to explore some spiritual questions from his story as it relates to our lives.What motivated Pheidippides to run in this manner?  What obstacles did he find in his way?  Did he meet people along the way?  Did he drink anything?  Did he think about quitting?  There is much unknown about his trip as he did not live long enough to tell it.  We do know that he got the message to Sparta and was able to overcome all kinds of obstacles to accomplish something that had never happened before.  In Marathon, he saw a goal and he went for it with all of his might.  For those last hours of his life, he participated in something larger than himself and I believe that is what enabled him to get the message from Marathon to Sparta.  The message took hold of him and he literally, ran with it.  With that in mind, let’s now move our thoughts toward a specific scripture.     Philippians 3:12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Have we been taken hold by something larger than us or do we only live in the story of our own lives?  Paul says that Christ had taken hold of him and he could help but move forward in the direction of the prize.  He simply could not do anything but go for the prize with his whole life.  That is how much embraced and lived the story of God's call on his life.  No matter the changes that pursuit brought, it never made him give up in his pursuit.  No wavering, no doubts, no regrets for him.  The pursuit brings powerful changes in our lives and they matter not in the greater pursuit of him.