I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Timothy 4: 7-8

Northern Ballet is currently doing a performance of the Tortoise and the Hare. Whilst watching a workshop by the education arm of the company, for the first time I saw a spiritual connection I had failed to notice before.

For those who are not familiar with the story; there once was a speedy hare who constantly bragged about how fast he. Tired of hearing this a tortoise challenged him to a race. The hare is insulted, as he sees this as no match for his superior running skills, but takes the race as his ego is at stake. The hare races off at the start, top speed, and ran out of sight. After a while he slowed and thought to himself, “Why am I running so fast? The tortoise could never catch me so I may as well stop for a play.” So he hopped over a fence into a field and had a good time playing and rolling around in the grass until he got tired. He popped his head out of the field and looked down the road where the tortoise was nowhere in sight. So he decided to have just a little sleep.

When he awoke he realised that he had been asleep for some time as the sun was no longer high in the sky, so he set off running faster than he had ever run before. He crossed the line in a blur and sat down with a satisfied smile on his face. Only then did he see the tortoise smiling back at him with the winner’s medal. The moral; slow and steady wins the race.

Sometimes we set off on our spiritual journeys as if we are aiming to be the first to heaven, but fail to recognise that the more time we spend in the study of God’s work, the better equipped we will be in getting there. I recently heard of a new baptised member leaving the church due to not being grounded in the faith, finding it easier to walk than to stay and fight for his salvation. It saddens me as these stories are not new and I am sure will happen again.

Let us spend time reviewing our spiritual journey so far, making sure we steadily make it all the way to heaven.

The Cockman Family sing ‘Run this race’. Click on the picture to listen.