Running in Victory
by Mike Killebrew
The last few years I’ve spent many fall Saturday mornings covered in dew, hazelnut coffee in hand, cheering on our girls in cross country. My three daughters all ran this year, and we just had our end-of-season banquet last week. So, Saturday mornings are now free! If you’ve ever been to a cross-country meet, you know the energy: the nervous chatter at the starting line, the parents jogging from spot to spot to cheer on their kiddo, and the roar of excitement as runners push through the final stretch, giving it their all. I personally love watching the finish line as athletes compete not only against each other but against the clock for that new PR (personal record).
Cross country is a wonderful sport; I’ve learned a lot simply by watching my kids. I was never a runner. One of the things I’ve enjoyed learning is that it’s not always about raw talent or speed. It’s about endurance, discipline, and determination. It’s about countless hours of practice with thousands of unseen steps, a strategy, good coaching and teammates, and significant amounts of heart-pounding, muscle-aching effort.
The cross-country course is a great place to see that victory is not about one moment at the end of the race, it’s also about the way you run. I’m grateful for our team’s God-honoring coaches who teach this to them.
This past season, I watched my girls grow in confidence, not because they won every race, but because they kept showing up. They trained consistently, even when it was hard or the weather was bad. They learned to push through the challenges of a demanding sport. I watched as the whole team discovered that victory isn’t only found at the finish line; it’s formed long before the race even begins.
And honestly, that’s a similar picture to what Scripture paints about living for Jesus. Victory doesn’t come from sprinting spiritually. It comes from living like Jesus, one step in front of the other, decision by decision, day after day, especially when it’s hard. Our blog theme this year has centered around the idea found in 1 John 2:6, “If I claim to be a Christian, I must live as Jesus lived.”
Jesus didn’t make a direct analogy to running, but He often spoke about perseverance, endurance, and faithfulness, ideas that align closely with the concept of a race. The Apostle Paul used running imagery several times. In fact, I often wonder if Paul was a runner. What do you think? His descriptions of living like Jesus compare a faithful life to running a race in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27, Galatians 5:7, and 2 Timothy 4:7. And then there is this powerful passage in Philippians 3:12–14, which captures Paul’s determination so clearly:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal,
but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
When Jesus lived on earth, He didn’t appear victorious by the world’s standards. Yet He lived the most victorious life ever lived. Jesus shows us what victory, or as Paul says, how to “press on” really looks like:
Victory in obedience.
In John 6:38, Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me.” Every victory in Jesus’ life started with His surrender to the Father. Our victories begin the same way, through surrender to Jesus and obedience.
Victory in compassion.
Jesus loved people others ignored. He touched those who were untouchable. He welcomed the outcast and forgave the undeserving. We have great opportunities to live like Jesus through compassion.
Victory in sacrifice.
The cross didn’t look like victory, but it was. Jesus defeated our sin by giving His life away. When we live as Jesus lived, we experience victory through humility, surrender, and sacrificially putting others first.
Victory in the resurrection.
The ultimate victory was in the empty tomb. Everything we do to live like Jesus, through His grace, leads us toward a victory finish line of eternal life.
When I watch my girls cross the finish line, what makes me celebrate most is not their place in the race. It’s their heart and their determination to finish strong. This season I saw their growth through perseverance and endurance.
I think God feels the same way about us. He isn’t calling us to be the fastest or to win at everything. He’s calling us to be faithful, to live like Jesus, one step at a time, to trust Him, obey Him, love Him, and persevere like Him. Because of Jesus, we know how the race ends, in victory. And since we know that truth, we can run like it in the present.
When we live like Jesus, we don’t only run toward victory and a finish line…we run in victory.
