The Olympics. The Summer Games will be upon us in Paris this month. One of the most interesting events is The Marathon. This event takes us deep into the history of the Olympics. 

The idea of the modern marathon was inspired by the legend of an ancient Greek messenger who raced from the site of Marathon to Athens, a distance of about 40 kilometers, or nearly 25 miles, with the news of an important Greek victory over an invading army of Persians in 490 B.C. After making his announcement, the exhausted messenger collapsed and died, as the legend goes.

The ancient marathon may have these ancient roots, but the foot race’s official length of 26.2 miles wasn’t established until the 20th century. The first organized marathon was run in Athens at the 1896 Olympics, the start of the Games modern era. The ancient games, which took place in Greece from around 776B.C. to A.D. 393, never included such long distance races.

 
In the modern era, for the next few Olympics, the length of the marathon remained close to 25 miles. But at the 1908 Games in London, the course was extended, allegedly to accommodate the British Royal family. Reportedly, Queen Alexandria requested that the race start on the lawn of Windsor Castle (so the littlest royals could watch from the window of their nursery, according to some accounts) and finish in front of the royal box at the Olympic stadium – a distance that happened to be 26.2 miles (26 miles and 385 yards). The random boost in mileage ended up sticking, and in 1921 the length of a marathon was formally standardized at 26.2 miles.

The New Testament writers, and especially The Apostle Paul, were more than familiar with the Olympics, competition, running. Paul uses this image as a powerful metaphor for the Christian life. He writes in I Corinthians: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Paul again: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Let me share with you one more. We read in Hebrew: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 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. 

There is another Marathon Man among us. His run took Him to a cross. He ran for you. He runs for you. He did not quit. He ran for the joy that was set before Him. He endured the cross.  He despised its shame. The joy? You! Seeing sinners like you and me forgiven!

I have a simple imperative for you. Actually, it isn’t mine, it is His. Keep running! The eternal wreath awaits!

Until next month,
PTK