Running Story
There’s an article written by Nicholas Thompson that deeply inspired me to start running every day. It tells the story of his father and of himself. HIs father was brilliant and successful early in life. He won a scholarship to Phillips Academy Andover, Stanford, and Oxford. When he met John F. Kennedy in 1960, Kennedy joked that Thompson’s father might make it to the White House before he did. But beneath the success, something was wrong. He was drinking too much, smoking too much, worrying too much. So he started to run. He ran every morning. He ran marathons. Running helped him hold his life together until middle age. Then, he stopped. In his 40s, his life entered a downward spiral from which he never recovered. His life fell apart, and it ended sadly. Nicholas took up running to be like his father. He also kept running because his father stopped. He shares why he runs this way:
“But really I run because of my father. Running connects me to my father, reminds me of my father, and gives me a way to avoid becoming my father. My father led a deeply complicated and broken life. But he gave me many things, including the gift of running – a gift that opens the world to anyone who accepts it.”[1]Spiritual Journey as a Long Race
In today’s scripture, the apostle Paul compares our spiritual journey to a long-distance race. And he does not say, “Just finish.” He says, “Run to win.” (v. 24) As we know, no one wakes up one morning and runs a marathon. It takes training. It takes discipline, especially if you want to finish well. In his article, Nicholas Thompson says this about getting faster: “You can’t get faster by magic, and you do get faster with effort… you have to go out every day and run – even when you’re sore, tired, cold, grumpy, busy, or all of the above.”[2]
The same is true of our spiritual race. We do not grow spiritually by accident. We grow through daily spiritual discipline – day after day after day – no matter what. (v. 25). Many of us remember John Wesley’s defining spiritual moment. It came at the lowest point of his life – after he failed mission to the American colonies. He wrote in his journal, “I went to America to convert the Indians, but who shall convert me?” And yet, Wesley did not quit. He kept searching. He kept reading Scripture. He kept attending worship. One evening, he wrote, “In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street.” That was the night his heart was strangely warmed. Think also of Mother Teressa, who lived through deep spiritual darkness for much of her life. Still, she kept going. Her well-known words say it all: “People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway… The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.”
Run with Purpose
Running a marathon is hard. Many runners quit, not because they are weak, but because they forget why they are running. Around mile 20, runners call it “hitting the wall.” The legs feel heavy. The cheering crowd thins out. The finish line is nowhere in sight. The mind says, “Stop. This hurts. Why am I doing this?” This is where many runners slow down or quit. Another wall comes in the last three miles. The finish line is close, but the body is empty. At that point, it is no longer strength that carries runners home. It is purpose. For Nicholas Tompson, running was about becoming like his father – but not repeating his father’s ending. Many runners develop mantras to help them keep going.
In the same way, we, spiritual marathoners, need a crystal-clear reason why we run. Paul gives us that reason: “Everyone who competes practices self-discipline in everything. The runners do this to get a crown of leaves that shrivel up and die, but we do it to receive a crown that never dies.” (v. 25, CEB) The imperishable crown is our reason to run. Then what is that crown?
Full Salvation
There are two faithful ways to understand it. First, the imperishable crown is full salvation. Not only forgiveness of sins, but being shaped day by day into the likeness of Christ – until we are fully transformed by grace.
Samuel Logan Brengle, a leader in the Salvation Army, describes his life-changing experience of God’s love on Boston Common. He wrote:
“I walked out over Boston Common before breakfast, weeping for joy and praising God. Oh, how I loved! In that hour I knew Jesus, and I loved Him till it seemed my heart would break with love. I was filled with love for all His creatures. I heard the little sparrows chattering; I loved them. I saw a little worm wriggling across my path; I stepped over it; I didn’t want to hurt any living thing. I loved the dogs, I loved the horses, I loved the little urchins on the street, I loved the strangers who hurried past me, I loved the heathen, I loved the whole world.”This is why we read Scripture every day. This is why we pray every day. This is why we come to this place and worship again and again. Not to earn salvation, but to make room for the Holy Spirit to transform us from one degree to another. The imperishable crown is the fruit of the Holy Spirit formed in us.
People
Second, the imperishable crown is the fruit of faithful gospel labor. Paul says, in Philippians 4:1, “My bothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown.” And again, in 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, he says, “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” Again and again, Paul calls people his crown. The lasting reward of the Christian race is not applause, not success, but lives transformed by Christ – through our persistent daily intercessory prayer, and through our faithful labor of love, sacrifice, and forgiveness.
Our perfect example is Jesus Christ our Lord. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” What was the joy set before Jesus? It was not comfort. It was the fruit of the cross. When Jesus carried the cross, he did not see only wood and nails. He saw faces. He saw names. He saw us. Jesus ran the race first. Jesus endured pain without quitting. Jesus finished strong. Why? For the imperishable crown. For the joy of redeemed people. For you and me.
Why I Run
I think many of us have seen the film Schindler’s List. German businessman Oskar Schindler used his wealth to buy Jewish lives from the Nazis. At the end of the film, he breaks down. He looks at his car. He looks at his gold pin. And he says, “I could have saved more.” He longed for one more chance – to give more, to save more lives.
But the film does not end with despair. In the very final scene, the real survivors – the people Schindler saved, and their descendants – walk together to Schindler’s tomb in Jerusalem. One by one, they place small stones on his grave as a sign of remembrance and honor. These people are Schindler’s crown.
Paul ran the race with purpose in every step because he knew what lasts forever – people transformed by God’s grace. Schindler disciplined his life to save lives. Paul disciplined his life to save souls. Both understood why they ran.
Daniel says those who lead many to righteousness will shine like stars forever. (12:3) This is the imperishable crown. Not gold. Not glory. But lives touched, saved, and led to Christ. While we still have our three T’s – time, treasure, and talents, how will we run?
------------
[1] Nicholas Thompson, “Why I Run,” The Atlantic (December 2025), 66-73.
[2] Ibid., 73.
