“…So David prepared abundantly before his death” (I Chronicles 22:5c).
Did you run track in high school? Perhaps you ran the 95-yard dash, or the 215. I ran track for one year while in high school. I wasn’t the fastest or the best, but I enjoyed it. I was young, ambitious, and just wanted to do something. But one thing I do know, I never ran the 95 or the 215. My friends ran the 100-yard dash and the 220. I ran the longer distances.
The point is this: In marriage, as well as the Christian life, it’s not how you start that really counts, though important, it’s how you finish. You can run for 95 yards and even lead the field, but if you stop five yards short, those 95 yards were an exercise in futility. There are too many Christians, too many fathers and mothers, who are running the 95-yard dash. They quit on God and stop on each other.
We are losing our families to this culture. Our boys and girls need to see personal commitments from each of us (dad, mom, grandparents, teachers) to finish the race. It is a surrender each and every day to the new mercies and compassions of Almighty God. We must repent each day of our own desires and allow God’s ways to saturate and permeate our lives. There is a race to be run; there is a race to be won!