I’m training to run my first marathon this October. Right now the big challenge is trying to get in my 20 miles a week during the cold temperatures. I’ll begin stretching the distance once the weather warms up. While I don’t think the marathon will be easy, I’m confident that the goal of finishing will be a strong motivator for the difficult training ahead. But once I’ve done it, then what? I think about this a lot. I enjoy running, but I need a challenging goal or I get bored. Or worse, I just give up when it gets hard.
Have you ever noticed in baseball when there’s a play at first base the runner doesn’t slow down and stop at the base? He keeps running. They call that running through the base. It’s almost as if his real goal is actually beyond the obvious goal. I’m learning to apply that lesson to all the things I’m trying to do in life.
I don’t know what the goal is beyond the marathon, but I do know that finishing the race itself is not the ultimate. I’ll cross the finish line, then someone will hand me the medal, then my family and friends will say “good job”, and then I’ll go home. Then what?
The Apostle Paul understood this. He said he wants to know Christ, the power of the resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings. Now that’s someone who’s running through the base. What are your goals in life? What’s the goal beyond the goal? I think that’s a question worth asking.
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