Paul often uses the metaphor of running a race to describe the Christian life. I don’t know if you’ve ever run a long race, but usually, you don’t go out one day and just run a marathon. You have to work up to the length of the marathon, little by little. The other thing is that you don’t run 26 miles every day. My friends who run marathons talk about long runs and short runs. Some days they’ll run 13 miles, some days they’ll run 7. They have to mix it up so that they train their bodies to run and finish the long 26 miles that is the marathon.

Don’t misunderstand me! I’m not suggesting that we take days off from the Christian marathon and stop doing good! What I’m saying is that we need to take care of ourselves and our souls. As an evangelist who has spent my whole adult life preaching the gospel, I need to be sure to take time to pray and listen to God. Jesus Himself went out to the desert, away from the crowds, to pray. We need to train ourselves: with regular prayer, reading of God’s word, and time in His Church, in order to go out and spread the Good News Gospel. As 2 Corinthians says, “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” We make sure we pay attention to our own Christian training even while we invite others to run with us. Running together toward Christ is the best way to run.       

This is Luis Palau.