Whitewood Grad Service

Running your Race

Tonight. I just want to start out by saying how proud I am of you. Graduates, families, and friends:

Donna, the kids and I have been gone for nearly 4.5 years. It is so hard to believe how quickly time flies. You were in Grade 8 when we moved to Lanigan. You have grown up and changed a lot since I first met you. For some, it was Kids Club. For others it was church. For still others it was Youth Group and still for some, it might have been 4H.

Tonight, I’d like to encourage you to run your race.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 Paul the Apostle said,

1 Corinthians 9:24–25 NIV

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Paul lived in the 1st Century. The Olympics were already taking place in Greece. Presently the Olympics take place every four years. In Corinth, which is located in south-central Greece, athletes participated in the Isthmian games, which were second in popularity only to the Olympics. This occured every two years. Corinthians knew what Paul was talking about when he mentioned races, and running, and the prize.

The athletes went into rigorous training. It was prestigious. For us, it might be something like all the effort that goes into winning the Stanley Cup.

The Purpose

Each of these runners ran with purpose. Their goal was to be esteemed as the fastest, the strongest, and maybe the most agile.

When we think of the World’s fastest man, we think of the 100 metres, which is 9.58 seconds. Usain Bolt holds the record as the World’s fastest man.

There is much prestige in being the best at something. It might be track and field. It might be hockey. It might be rodeo. It might be engineering, or inventing, and the list could go on and on.

There is a very important question that is asked in the New Testament in James 4:14.

What is your life?

Have you ever asked yourself that question?

I’m sure that each of you have dreams and aspirations of what you want to become. You may be accepted into a certain field of studies at University. You may be going to SIAST, or planning to work, and the world is wide open in front of you.

James gives an answer to His question: “What is your life/”

It is a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

This answer is becoming more and more real to me each day. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I graduated from Whitewood High School, but the calendar tells me that I’m wrong.

Psalm 90:12 NLT

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

In other words, if I can leave this thought with you, “Make every day count.” Live each and every day to the fullest. Cherish your time with each other. We just don’t know what a day holds.

Perseverance

Run in such a way to get the prize.

The longer you live, you will realize that you have to push through that desire to quit. Maybe it’s a tough prof, or a class that is boring. Maybe it’s an accident, and it’s just too hard to rehab. Maybe it’s your walk with Jesus, and you just don’t feel like reading your Bible or going to church. Press through anyways.

I want to share a story of great perseverance

Glenn Cunningham

Glenn Cunningham was a young boy raised in Kansas during the early 1900’s. One of his and his brother Floyd’s chores was to start the coal furnace in the country school that they attended.

Instead of kerosene, somebody had put gasoline in the can used for starting the fire. There was a terrible explosion and both Glenn and Floyd were on fire.

Floyd later died and 9 year-old Glenn was told that he would never walk again. Infection had spread so the doctors decided amputation was the only resort. Cunningham would have nothing of the sort. His legs were his life. Even though from the knees done, his legs were like charred wood.

Could you imagine learning to walk without any toes on your left foot, let alone learning to run. Nearly two years after the accident, Young Cunningham learned to walk, and then to run. By the age of 12, he was not only running, but winning the races he entered.

As a teenager, he set State records and went on to hold many world records. I don’t know if this means anything to you, but he ran the 800m in 1:49.7s and the 1500m in 3:48.4s. Just to put this in perspective with our Saskatchewan Track and Field records. Senior Boys record for the 800m is 153.94 and the the record for the 1500m is 350.52.

Through all his struggles, he held on to Isaiah 40:31

Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

I can’t even begin to imagine the perseverance that it must have taken, but just as Cunningham held onto his hope in the Lord, and we too must hold on firmly to our hope in Christ.

The Prize

1 Corinthians 9:24 NLT

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!

What do you want to be remembered for? Right now the world is in front of you. You have dreams of what you want to become. You might have plans as to how you will get there, but in all your planning, don’t forget to make eternal plans

1 Corinthians 9:25–26 NLT

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.

Let’s not live for prizes that will soon fade away.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 NLT

Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.”

I want to close with a story of a young man that had every opportunity that he could have wanted and yet he lived for his eternal prize.

No regrets In 1904 William Borden, heir to the Borden dairy estate, graduated from a Chicago high school a millionaire.

His parents gave him a trip around the world. Travelling through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe gave Borden a burden for the world’s hurting people. Writing home, he said, "I’m going to give my life to prepare for the mission field."

When he made this decision, he wrote in the back of his Bible two words: "No Reserves."

Turning down high-paying job offers after graduating from Yale University, he entered two more words in his Bible: "No Retreats." Completing studies at Princeton Seminary, Borden sailed for China to work with Muslims, stopping first at Egypt for some preparation. While there he was stricken with cerebral meningitis and died within a month. A waste, you say! Not in God’s plan. In his Bible underneath the word "No Reserves" and "No Retreats," he had written the words "No Regrets." (Bobby Scobey)

My prayer for each of us one day, is that when we stand before God, We will have no regrets for how we lived our lives, but that we would hear the words. “Well Done!”