However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. (Acts 20:24)

On Tuesday the 13th of July at 6.30am, Maria and I will start our 6th four day walking event in Apeldoorn, Holland. From Tuesday to Friday we’ll be walking 25 miles each day and, as I am writing this, I am looking forward to it, but not without a measure of trepidation. Will I be ok? Will I be able to complete each day? Of the 4,000 people who start, walking 12, 18, 25 and 30 miles per day, I would expect about 300 not to finish. Will I be one of those? At this point I am quite to determined to last the pace, but I know that there will be difficult moments. The first day everyone starts with a lot of enthusiasm, but after the morning coffee break at around 10 mile, you get up and feel sore. After 20 miles you can feel your hips, knees, ankles or feet, if not all of those at the same time. After day 1 at around 4 in the afternoon you can see me in the local supermarket, leaning on my trolley, wondering how I will manage to do day 2 and 3 and 4!

All of this is a good picture of the Christian life. The apostle Paul compares following and serving the Lord with a race and his ultimate purpose was to finish that race. He knew that he would need to be fully committed in order to keep going until the end.

The theme of the book of Hebrews is perseverance as well. The recipients were believers who felt the Christian life hard going and some of them wanted to give up, but they were challenged not to:

• We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. (2:1)
• We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. (3:14)
• We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (6:11,12)
• You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. (10:36)

In the last chapter of Hebrews God shows us a number of things we need to persevere in:

• Keep on loving each other
• Remember those in prison (believers suffering for their faith)
• Keep the marriage bed pure (avoid any form of immorality)
• Keep your lives free from the love of money
• Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings
• Be willing and prepared to endure the disgrace that comes with following a Saviour who suffered outside the city gate
• Let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise
• Obey your leaders and submit to their authority
• Pray

When the author of Hebrews wrote 'Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees (12:12), it almost seems that he had some understanding of walkming 100 miles in 4 days. But I know that, compared to the challenges we face as Christians, the event in Holland is a stroll in the park!