Tuesday, January 4 I have run the race to the finish.​—2 Tim. 4:7.

[Áine]

Tuesday, January 4

I have run the race to the finish.—2 Tim. 4:7.

 

The apostle Paul said that all true Christians are in a race. (Heb. 12:1) And all of us, young or old, energetic or tired, must endure to the end if we want to receive the prize that Jehovah offers us. (Matt. 24:13) Paul had freeness of speech because he had successfully “run the race to the finish.” (2 Tim. 4:7, 8) But what, specifically, is the race that Paul spoke about? Paul sometimes used features from the games held in ancient Greece to teach important lessons. (1 Cor. 9:25-27; 2 Tim. 2:5) On a number of occasions, he used running as in a footrace to illustrate the Christian course of life. (1 Cor. 9:24; Gal. 2:2; Phil. 2:16) A person enters this “race” when he dedicates himself to Jehovah and gets baptized. (1 Pet. 3:21) He crosses the finish line when Jehovah grants him the prize of everlasting life.—Matt. 25:31-34, 46; 2 Tim. 4:8. w20.04 26 ¶1-3

[WilliamChew]

In a literal footrace
▪︎ only one person wins the prize
▪︎ all the runners had to be physically fit; otherwise, they had little chance of winning.

 

Good to see that in a christian race for life
▪︎ everyone who endures faithfully receives the prize of everlasting life.
▪︎ many of us have physical or mental limitations, yet we are enduring. With Jehovah’s help, we will all run the race to the finish!