Run Your Race: Wrapping Up Galatians

It's easy to start things, right? When the excitement and anticipation are rushing, it's easy to knock out the early stages of a task. But what happens when that wears off? When things get tough, it becomes exceedingly easy to quit; to bail out; to give up.

Paul talks about this in Galatians 5:7
"You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom."

Paul is saying, "You guys started out so well. What happened?" I like Paul's metaphor of running, because it paints a really clear picture of what being a Christian is like. Running starts out easy, but sticking with it requires discipline, determination, and strength. The Galatians' race started out easy, but when things got tough, they quit.

People were opposing them and trying to talk them out of believing what God had revealed to them. Instead of fighting through and working through their faith, they gave up. But this message Paul brings isn't just for the Galatians. We struggle with this constantly. We decide to follow God and things are going well, but then before we know it, things begin to get tough. Maybe we're afraid of being judged, or we know that we have to change the way we live our lives; either way, we have to make a tough decision: we either stick with God, or we do life our way.

The struggle doesn't always end in us rejecting God or giving up on Him completely, but it could just be us not pursuing after Him anymore.

"For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another." - Gal. 5:14

Paul is saying, "You want to know what it looks like to live this out and keep running the race? Love as you want to be loved." When you keep on running and persisting in your race, you are pursuing after God. You are doing what Paul says in v.16-17, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions."

To keep running the race means to be guided by the Holy Spirit. When you stop running, you take over the direction and guidance of your soul. Something is going to guide us and lead our lives.

"When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" - Gal. 5:19-23

So are you running the race being led by the Holy Spirit, producing love and goodness and self-control? Or have you given up and are taking over control for yourself?

Have you stopped pursuing God? Have you stopped letting Him lead you? Have you been finding your worth in what people think of you or in what God thinks of you? Here's the good news: It's not too late to start running again. God's grace is big enough to cover up your mistakes. Your true worth lies in Christ. Keep running your race towards Him.