Quotes from TRSBU, #1

The Race Set Before Us, 88.

"The 'race set before us' is an uncommon footrace, for the victor's wreath of life that we pursue is the life that already courses through our mortal bodies by God's Spirit (Rom 8:11). This is not the rhetoric of a sports commentator reporting on the marathon at the Olypmics: 'The runners are already empowered by the gold.' It is much more than desire for the gold that invigorates runners in this uncommon race. . . . Although eternal life is God's prize of salvation that we pursue with eager hope, eternal life is also the gift of grace that already invigorates us with resurrection life so that we run the race with perseverance. Eternal life is the reward that we trust God will give to us who faithfully endure to the end of the race. Yet eternal life is also the very breath of heaven that already fills our hearts with God's Spirit and enlivens our 'feeble arms and weak knees' (Heb 12:12) to 'run the race set before us' (Heb 12:1).