“Running Well”

“Oh foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth…you ran well, who hindered you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 3:1; 5:7)

In the first century days of the Apostle Paul, the Greek Olympic Games held a significant place in the everyday lives of those in the Roman Empire. Every four years, athletes representing various city-states would congregate to compete in a series of athletic events. While the ancient games featured discus, javelin throwing, boxing, wrestling and equestrian events, the most prestigious of all of the events was the marathon. It has been said that the marathon is the ultimate athletic event; it is a race against time, it is a race against others, but it is primarily a race against oneself. It is little wonder then, that the great apostle used this grueling foot race as his favorite metaphor for the Christian life.

The similarities that exist between the marathon and the Christian journey are numerous: In Greco-Roman times, only Roman born citizens were allowed to represent their region in competition. So too, to reach the heavenly finish line, we must be citizens of Kingdom of God, born anew by the Spirit of God. The marathon had a definite start, and, after winding some twenty six miles in distance, a definite destination, arriving in front of a Bema (Judgment) Seat, where royalty would crown victorious heads with laurel wreaths. Paul draws from this picture in both letters to the Corinthians, imploring, “We (Christians) must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…run in such a way that you receive (the prize)”. Like the laurel leaf crown given as a prize to the ancient Greek athlete, we also will receive a crown as a prize, but ours will not wither and fade. Our crown, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, will be “imperishable”.

In our verses above, Paul recognizes that those in the Galatian church had indeed begun to run, even running well, initially. But in the course of the same brief sentences he asks with a groan in his heart, one agonizing question in two different forms, “Who bewitched (deceived) you?…Who hindered you?” Herein is a question that could be asked of countless multitudes in every generation that have begun well on this track of faith, yet have for some reason or another, failed to continue. “Who has bewitched you…who has hindered you?” If I were to poll those “bewitched” and “hindered” round and about me, I can safely say that a good portion would answer “who” with “what”—what has bewitched or hindered them; an illness or death of a loved one that proved God unfair and callous, a personal difficulty or tragedy that they perceived a cruel joke played on them by the heavenly jester.  While they answer “what”, few would consider that they are actually blaming “who”, that “who” being God. The word “who” here, can mean “what”, but all of the translators were careful to render the word “who”. “Who”, Paul asks intentionally, “has bewitched…hindered you?”

Those round me that would answer the question as it is properly phrased would probably answer something along these lines; a pastor or church leader let them down or deceived them. Hypocrisy (to wear two masks is the definition) by Christians they know has soured them on God. Their parents forced them to go to Sunday school and now they have no desire, or, their parents were devoid of God, and so too are they. The list could go on and on. The problem is, Biblically, we can’t blame others for our shortcomings. When caught after eating of the forbidden fruit, Adam blamed God and Eve, “The Woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave to me of the tree, and I ate.” Eve shifted the blame as well, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So it has been from the very beginning, that man would blame others for his failure to follow God, and that God would accept no excuse.

A third group, if polled, would answer that the devil is the “who” that has “bewitched/hindered” them. They would, if given the opportunity, spend considerable time recounting their many struggles and defeats at the hands of the enemy. And, one must admit, Satan is a powerful opponent. “Our adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).” Satan works primarily by relentlessly appealing to the natural desires within each of us that have been distorted and perverted by The Fall: “the lust of the flesh’ (the desire to feel great), “the lust of the eyes” (the desire to look great) and “the pride of life” (the desire to be great) (1 John 2:16). He stirs into to this unholy brew, “the world”; by New Testament definition, the spirit of this age, with which the “Prince of this world”, Satan, intoxicates the masses. The world is the media Lucifer and his minions use to entice the flesh. The world, the flesh, and the devil combined present a formidable foe. Formidable they are, but not indomitable. This three headed monster has one fatal flaw: all three must work in unity together for them to have success. This is shown in Matthew chapter 4, where Satan used the media of the world to tempt Jesus with the desire to feel, look, and be great. The Tempter was unsuccessful because our Lord did not falter. Before you wave the red flag of protest by surmising that Jesus is different than us because He was perfect, let me remind you, that, while He was different than you and I in that He was God and He was perfect, He was also exactly like you and I in that he was fully a man and was “tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).” Jesus combated the Devil’s advances, not with superhuman God powers unavailable to us, but by the Holy Spirit and the word of God. While we do retain a sin nature, as Christians, we are no longer slaves to sin, as we were before believing in Christ. Although we do not have control over the devil and the world, we do, by the power of the Spirit, have control over our sin nature, the flesh. By yielding to the Spirit we do not have to succumb to the wiles of the devil. Therefore, one cannot truly say, “the devil made me do it”.

“Who has bewitched you…Who has hindered you?” As a marathon is primarily a race against oneself, so the answer to Paul’s question lies within. As Walt Kelly’s famous cartoon character, Pogo the Possum, famously stated, “We have found the enemy, and the enemy is us.” James put it this way, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin…where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” (James 1:14-15; 4:1) This realization, that we are our own biggest hindrance, begs us to ask, from where then, do we find the strength and power to “finish the race” and “keep the faith”, as Paul stated emphatically at the end of his life, writing in 2 Timothy and the fourth chapter? I would submit to you that we must look to the same place we did to find the answer to the first question from Galatians–within. The world talks much about great athletes digging deep and reaching deep within themselves for the strength to endure and power to gain victory. But I am not talking about that. I am speaking of looking inside ourselves to the One who dwells in the heart of the believer and is the wellspring of our life–Jesus!

Certainly, every competitive marathoner must possess discipline. They must train with dedication, living moderately, denying themselves anything that might hinder their ability to compete. This is accomplished, in part, by perspective. The runner is always training toward the next race. In the race he or she is running with the finish line in mind. Paul incorporated these principles into his Christian life as well, “I run…not with uncertainty…but I discipline my body and bring it under subjection (1 Cor. 9:25;27).” The word disciple and the word “discipline” share the same root word. Thus, in order to be a disciple (follower) of Christ, one must be disciplined. We must daily “lay aside every weight (unnecessary burdens), and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and…run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1).” Writing to the Philippians, Paul proclaimed, “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press for the prize of the upward call of Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:12-14).” The word “press” literally means “to persecute”. “I persecute for the prize.” For Paul this held deep meaning. Having begun as the zealous, church persecuting Saul, he determined to persecute toward the Lord as vehemently as he had previously labored against Him. This is a little known and even lesser practiced secret to the Christian life: Go as hard for the Lord as you ever did in living for yourself, and you will run well and finish strong. But where do we find the strength to persecute for the prize; to put one foot in front of the other when our spiritual lungs are on fire and our legs are trembling from weakness? Hebrews 12:2 says, by “looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.” This oft quoted portion of scripture is a truth that preaches well yet lives poorly unless you read the whole verse. It reads in full, “Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus endured the pain and shame of the cross “for the joy that was set before Him.” What was the joy? The answer-You and I. The key to His endurance was His joy; joy in the fact that if He stayed His course and finished His race He would spend eternity with those who put their faith in Him and follow along His path: a path of fellowshipping (partnering) with Him in His sufferings, as well as His resurrection. Paul would passionately share with the much bewitched and hindered Corinthian church; it is “the love of Christ that compels (me).” Joy was the key to our Lord’s endurance. His joy was us. Joy is the key to our endurance. Our joy must be Him. He could endure for us. He possessed the love (love being an action word that speaks more of commitment than feeling) to endure for us. We can never endure for Him. Our ability to endure for Him must come from Him, just as Paul was compelled by His love. “We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).” And Jesus, having finished His race and receiving His crown of glory, “sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” At this throne He “lives to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25)”,  praying for us as we run the race set before us, giving us the strength to make it to our destination–His very throne–where He will someday bestow upon us rewards for finishing.

What love! He is the “Author” (beginning) of our race. What Power! He is the “Finisher” of our race. What Faithfulness! He is also the middle of our race…“He who began a good work in you will be able to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).” We train, yet He sustains. We believe, yet He helps our unbelief. The Helper is so much greater than the hindrances. “He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).” As the light that outshone the noonday sun when the Apostle Paul was intercepted by our Lord on the road to Damascus, so Truth overwhelms and overshadows the deception of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The Greeks ran the marathon on a set course. It was a well marked path. Runners could not take any route they chose to their destination.  If they strayed from the marked course they were disqualified. As opposed to a world that promotes the idea that any and all roads lead to Heaven, Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man comes to the Father, except through Me (John 14.6).” He is the start, He is the route, and He is the finish line. He said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  But narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:13-14).” In Him there is no deception and no hindrances. In Him there is strength to begin, strength to endure and strength to finish. In Him we find our purpose, our path, and our aspiration. See you at the Finish Line.

Pastor Mike