I recently purchased online a DVD of the 2007 Isle of Man TT motorcycle race- one of the oldest, fastest, and wildest motorcycle road races on the planet. 2007 was the 100 year anniversary of the famed race, which takes place on the Isle of Man, a small island off the west coast of England. The course winds 37.74 road miles around and across the island, through small towns, over wide open spaces, along the coasts, and up over the mountains. The TT takes place each May, across a week, with multiple motorcycle races and many festivities. Its quite a spectacle! I'd love to visit one year. Check out the highlight below-
The riders race their bikes for multiple laps around the small island, racing against the clock as much as each other. There are long straightaways, and its amazing the speeds they reach on their 2-wheeled rockets! One particular rider, John McGuinness, is considered a legend of the TT. By the time the 2007 TT was over, he had achieved 2 milestones- he became one of the winningest riders in TT history with 13 career wins, and he broke the all-time lap average speed, topping 130mph lap average in the final race. And best of all, he is my age! Hey, who says you have to slow down with age??
As I watched these races, I was mesmerized by the speed, control, focus, and determination of these human rockets. The greatest riders showed a precision and fire that carried them to great achievements, and to the few best, the winner's stand. I noted as well those who faded and failed. There were men who lost focus and fell behind, those who messed up and crashed, some who failed to calculate fuel usage properly and literally "gassed out", and others who had too slow pit stops or mechanical failure, failing to place or even finish.
I was reminded of how similar a long race like the TT is like life in Christ. Many start "out of the gate" strong and fast, but slow down, get distracted, make wrong turns and poor choices, and "crash" their lives, or just pull over and quit. It seems like so many I've known over the years have wound up this way. As I travel life's road, I see the wreckage of lives that had so much promise, but self-destructed. I see lives just coasting along, not aiming at anything, much less winning. And I see those who have quit, and walked away. They all break my heart, but make me more determined to ride hard, stay focused on Christ, and finish strong. The writer of Hebrews said it well in chapter 12:1 & 2- "...let us run with perseverence the race that is marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus..."
I don't want to end up a "wreck". I don't want to just coast along, aimless. And I certainly don't want to quit and walk away. I want to live my life by those verses, and so many others in the Bible, that challenge me to follow Christ, hard and fast, all the way to the finish line. And there, I want to see Him face-to-face, and hear him say, "Well done, My son! I'm proud of you", as I stand with all the hosts of Heaven, celebrating in the "winner's circle." (2 Timothy 4:8)
That keeps me going.
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