The Apostle Paul In the Bible, Paul speaks of enduring as a Christian, and compares it to finishing the race, referring to the marathon race, but meaning that we persevere to the end of this life, as God wants us to do. ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.’ (2 Timothy 4:7–8, NLT) William Carey William Carey went to India as one of the first missionaries in recent centuries – he is the father of the modern missionary movement which started in the late 18th century, that spread across the world. He was not a dynamic person by any means. But he could persevere for the long haul. “I can plod. That is my only genius. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.” He translated the Bible into Sanskrit, Bengali, and other languages in India. But one day all his work went up in smoke in a house fire. Years of hard laborious work was lost. What did he do? He started again – he persevered despite such a serious setback. Just like a marathon runner perseveres to the end of the race, just like the apostle Paul encourages us to persevere in the Christian life, just like persevering examples such as William Carey, we ought to persevere in our daily walk with the Lord, no matter what setbacks we might face. No matter what happens, we ought to carry on carrying on. Believers in Christ But we cannot run this race on our own. In fact, we cannot officially enter into this race without first having trusted in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. While there are many people trying to deserve a reward from God after their life is over, the heavenly prize that is on offer from God is only available to those who have trusted in Jesus. Believers must carry on, not looking back, not being burdened by sins that have already been forgiven, nor resting on their laurels or past glory, but looking forward to the finishing line. When the going gets tough, too, those trusting in Christ have the unlimited power of God to strengthen them: ‘Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.’ (Ephesians 3:20–21, NLT) Carry on carrying on!