“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)

The Race Is In Your Lane

Tom Adams coached the girls’ track team at Kankakee High School in Wheatfield, Indiana. Right before an important race, he often told his team, “The race is in your lane.” For each runner, that is all that mattered to have victory. They would lose the race if they were distracted by where other runners were, what they were doing, and how fast they were running. The runners needed to focus only on their lane. What they were doing and how they were running determined their success.

Life as a child of God is learning to run in the lane that belongs to us. Paul focused like a runner who could only see where he was running. Paul had a prize in mind; that was all he focused on. He did not look behind. Many things in Paul’s past could hinder him. He would later remark to Timothy that he considered himself the worst sinner of all. Paul did not dwell on his past, where he persecuted the church with a fierce vengeance. The life he lived as Saul of Tarsus, the great persecutor of the church, was in the past. He put that aside to run in his lane.

The only race that matters is our own. This reminds us that judgment is completed in a singular process where the only person responsible for me – is me. I can’t blame my parents, teachers, friends, or the state of the world for anything. At the end of the day, what I do in my lane is where I find my worth before God. My lane is my lane to run. I will stand before God, who will ask me how I ran my race – in my lane.

Accountability is a hard lesson to learn. It is easy to blame others for our failures. What I do and what I don’t do is in my lane. Our goal should only be to please God and press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Everything in my life is focused on that purpose because that is all I have in my lane. Running the race of life takes perseverance and determination. The race is what I have before me: to win or lose. Running on the narrow path is difficult and leads to life. Trying to run on the broad path is a crowded road where no one cares what lane they are in, leading to destruction.