We have watched those moments when athletes are about to start their race for the Olympic gold medal. They have done this so often since they first lined up to race, perhaps when they were still in grammar school. In various ways the official has said, “On your marks, get set, go.” The starting gun sounds, and the race begins.
Those starting words vary depending on the place and circumstances. In England, the words sometimes used are, “On your mark, steady, go.” As I grew up, the phrase most often used was shortened to, “Ready, Set, Go.” It is interesting to see how these three words are used to apply to our Christian lives.
The Christian is “ready.” You see this in Paul’s letter to the Romans. After he said that he was a debtor to all men, he said, “So as much as in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also” (Rom. 1:15). When he said “as much as in me,” he emphasized how devoted he was to getting the gospel to all mankind. He gave as much as he had! When he used the words, “to you who are in Rome also,” the word “also” emphasized that he felt the same toward teaching in every place.
When Paul wrote Titus, he said, “Remind them…to be ready for every good work” (Tit. 3:1). Faithfulness to God causes us to see a work that needs to be done, and then because we are ready, we do it! As the runner crouches to start the race and awaits the starting gun, so the Christian is “crouched” and his “starting gun” is seeing something needing to be done.
The Christian is “set.” The book of Hebrews describes our lives as being participants in a race in which we are surround by a great company of witnesses. Evidently those witnesses are the heroes of faith mentioned chapter eleven. The writer then says, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:1-2). The race is set and so are we! Our affections are firmly
“…set on things which are above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2).
The Christian is prepared to “go.” When Jesus called men to follow Him and become fishers of men, they responded, but there was no way they could have understood all that was involved in following Jesus. However, just before He ascended, He gave them detailed instructions of what being a follower of Jesus involved. They were told to go to all nations, to every creature and teach them the words Jesus had given them (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15). The response to the invitation to “come” is then to “go.”
So, as you run your race, remember that it involves three things—ready, set, go. Let’s run the race faithfully.