“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” — 2 Timothy 4:7
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In the 2022 Indianapolis 500, former Indy 500 champion and New Zealand native Scott Dixon had one of the best showings at the brickyard in recent years. In a field of 33 cars, making it far into the race is no guarantee. Drivers get loose and will take other cars with them into the wall, debris sits on the track and causes mechanical problems, or other unforeseen things can occur.
Dixon was able to avoid all of those things. He ran the fastest in qualifying, which gave him pole position for the race. Unsurprisingly, he led more laps than anyone in that race by being the man in front for 95 out of the 200 laps. He avoided any crashes behind him by being in front, and essentially dominated the race. All signs pointed to him winning the race.
In lap 176, Dixon had the lead and was coming in for his final pit stop before the race’s finish when he made his only mistake of the day: He locked up his rear tires coming down pit lane, putting him over the pit lane speed and racking up a drive-through penalty — effectively ending his chances of winning. Dixon finished the race in 21st place, 18 seconds behind winner Marcus Ericsson.
Dixon was so close to running a perfect race, but that one mistake ended up costing him a chance to win it all.
As followers of Christ, our walk with Him can sometimes feel like this. Everything in our lives is going well, we’re living by His Word, but end up making a mistake that makes us feel like we are now unfit to be with Him. In those moments, we can take comfort by remembering that we are given other opportunities through Christ’s sacrifice. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
In our own journeys with God, we won’t be able to live the perfect life as Jesus did. But He still offers us a chance to receive His grace each day and help us finish the race.
— Gannon Parker
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