Having done one marathon and watched a couple, I’ve seen people who gave up on the race. They gave up when they had made it 20 miles. They only had 6.2 to go, but they just couldn’t make it. It was too hard.
I think many people do the same thing, in regards to their lives. They make it 50-60-70 years following Christ, staying faithful to their wife/husband, loving their children, etc. But they gave up. They hit the wall. In marathon running the 20-21 mile mark is often called the wall. It’s when your body no longer has anything left in it. Your body uses up all the glycogen(energy) stored in the liver and muscles and begins to start burning fat.
Life is the same way to a certain extent. People hit that mid-life crisis. They were running on their own strength and it ran out. Maybe they haven’t made enough money, they haven’t traveled enough, they haven’t lived life to the fullest, at least not up to their standards. And so they leave their family, or they just live their sins in secret, etc.
I pray that myself and none of you will be these people. This race is long. The way is narrow. There are many turns off this narrow pathway. It will not be easy. As CS Lewis said, “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”
And this another thing I’ve been learning more and more. You cannot depend on your own strength. It will fail you. You have to turn to Christ and he is the one who will uphold you. Cling to that rock. Don’t allow yourself to think you can conquer sin on your own. You can’t. Christ has though. He has conquered sin and has crushed the head of the serpent with His heel in His laying down His life for us.
This life won’t be easy. There will be plenty of pathways that look prettier or easier. But they won’t lead to heaven. There is only one way to heaven and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Not through you or your works. 😉