Keep Running

Dear St Andrew’s,

This Sunday, some of us will be running through the streets of Lindfield in the local fun run. I am looking forward to it, though my own ambitions are modest: finish upright, smile occasionally, and avoid needing pastoral care at the end.

But while we jog around our neighbouring suburb, it is hard not to be inspired by what happened recently on the streets of London. On Sunday 26 April, Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe won the London Marathon in 1:59:30, becoming the first man officially to run a marathon in under two hours.

The barrier had been broken before, of course. In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40 in Vienna, in an extraordinary event built entirely for that purpose: pacemakers, lasers, perfect conditions, and a course designed to make history. His motto was: No human is limited.

Sawe’s run felt different. This was not a laboratory experiment. It was a race. There were competitors beside him, corners to take, bottles to grab, crowds to navigate, and the ordinary unpredictability of a marathon. And still, somehow, he averaged about 2 minutes and 50 seconds per kilometre for 42.2 kilometres. That is not so much running as low-level flying.

It is hard not to be inspired by such perseverance, discipline and courage. It also recalls the words of Hebrews:

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1–2).

The Christian life is not a stroll, a wander, or a gentle meander towards morning tea. It is a race. Not a race against one another, thank God. There are no medals for being more spiritual than the next person. But it is a race that requires perseverance, focus and the willingness to throw off whatever slows us down.

That includes sin, of course. But Hebrews also says “everything that hinders.” Some things may not be wrong in themselves, but they may still distract us, dull our love for Christ, or keep us from running freely. The question is not only, “Is this sinful?” but, “Is this helping me run?”

And here is where the slogan needs a Christian correction. No human is unlimited. We are wonderfully made, capable of astonishing things, but we are also fragile, finite and mortal. The gospel does not pretend otherwise. It tells us to fix our eyes not on human greatness, but on Jesus.

He has already run the race before us. He endured the cross, rose in victory, and now calls us to keep going until the finish line.

So, whether in Lindfield or London, with our eyes on him and the glory to come:

Keep running.

James