Ministry 

Renning Well

When I was in high school, I used to compete in a few events at our annual Sports Carnival. One of them was the 400 metre race. To be honest, I have never been a good medium or long-distance runner, so I kind of struggled around one complete lap of the track. 

The first 100 metres was fine as I took off from the line with lots of enthusiasm and set what I thought would be a pace that was both competative and sustainable. During the second hundred metres, I started getting a bit puffed but thought I would still be able to keep up the pace I had set. I began to struggle in the third part of the race, and by the time I reached the final hundred metres, I was dropping back through the pack pretty quickly as I ran out of puff. 

I learned from my experiences running the 400 metres that I needed to pace myself if I was going to reach the finish line in good shape. 

I often think about the school year in a similar way to my 400 metre races. As students and staff, it is important for us to pace ourselves through the four terms of the school year so we can reach the final run to the end of the year in good shape. 

The Apostle Paul used a running race as a metaphor for the Christian life. He wrote, 

… I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:13b,14 NLT) 

As we start this fourth term, I pray that we will all be able to focus on the finishing line that is ahead of us at the end of the school year, so we can run a good race and complete another year of learning well. 

God’s peace to you and your families, 

Pastor Eugene