One day two gas company servicemen, a senior training supervisor and a young trainee, were out checking gas meters in a subdivision.

They parked their truck at one end of the street and then they worked their way to the other end, checking the meters all along the way.

At the last house on the street, a woman was watching them through her kitchen window as they checked her gas meter.

Seeing how they had parked at the other end of the subdivision, the senior supervisor challenged his trainee to a race back to the truck, just to show the younger guy what good shape he was in.

So off they ran.

When they made it to the truck, they realized that the lady from the last house was running right behind them.

When she got to their truck, the supervisor asked the lady if something was wrong.

Out of breath, she replied, “Well,” she said gasping for air, “when I saw you two gas men,” gasp…gasp, “running as fast as you were,” gasp…gasp, “I figured I’d better run, too!”

The moral of the story: Somebody is watching you, and many times they will follow your lead.

You might not think of yourself as a leader. And you may not think of yourself as important.

But you are!

You are somebody’s role model. You may even be somebody’s hero.

Your children, your spouse, your family members, your friends, your coworkers… they’re all watching you.

And many times they will follow in your footsteps. What you do and how you live your life is very important.

Remember: Somebody is watching you!

Well, I read about another race.

This one took place many, many years ago.

There was a King who had one child, a beautiful daughter.

The Princess had numerous offers of marriage, but she couldn’t make up her mind on which one would be the best husband for her.

She believed in romance, and she wanted a man who would love her more than he loved anything else.

So, she and her father, the King, devised a way to test the love of her suitors.

An announcement was made and sent throughout the Kingdom that on a certain day, there would be a race.

The winner of the race would marry the Princess.

The race was open to every man in the Kingdom, regardless of their position in life.

All that was required was that the man had to profess to love the princess more than he loved anything else.

On the chosen day, men of all walks of life, nobility and lower class, the rich and the poor, young and old alike, all gathered for the race.

Each of these men professed wholehearted love for the Princess.

They gathered at the starting line, prepared to run the course of many miles that had been marked for the race.

They were all told that the Princess waited for her husband-to-be at the finish line. Whoever reached her first would take her as his bride.

Just before the race was to begin, an announcement was made.

The King, they were reminded, was a wealthy man with treasures gathered from all over the world.

Not wanting any man to run in vain, it was announced that the King had liberally scattered some of his finest treasures all along the course.

The runners were told they could take as many of these treasures as they could carry.

Then, the race started, and the runners took off.

Right away the runners began to come across beautiful gems and bags of gold. There were necklaces and pendants and jewel encrusted cups and swords and knives.

One by one, the runners, princes and paupers alike, turned aside to fill their pockets and they carried off whatever treasures they could.

Blinded by the immediate thought of riches and wealth, these men forgot about the Princess. Their so-called love for her fell by the wayside.

All except one fellow. This man pressed on.

He ignored what to him were but mere trinkets, compared to the incomparable beauty of the Princess and the prospect of gaining her hand in marriage.

He finally crossed the finish line, and gained a Royal Wife.

That’s the way temptation works isn’t it. The Tempter (the devil) places all kind of things in our pathway that are meant to blind our eyes to the kind of life God wants for us.

With God’s grace we can learn to avoid temptation.

We can learn to walk away from the things that could become ‘gods in our life.’

But, with The One True God’s grace and assistance, we can keep our focus on Him and the love we have for Him.

With God’s grace, we can learn to love others instead of loving ourselves.

You too are running a race. We all are. Are you going to cross the finish line?

Those who have run the Race before us, those who reached the Goal that was set before them, are there in the Bleachers of Glory, cheering us on.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews reminds us: “Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Run…run…run the race that is set before you! The Heavenly Father is waiting for us at the Finish Line.