In the Book of Acts, the Apostles constantly “exhorted” the people to practice and continue in the faith (Acts 14:22). The word exhort means to encourage someone with boldness. Yet, exhortation and encouragement are most effective when done in person. This is because the encourager’s presence plays an essential role in the exhortation they give.
The Greek word used for exhorting is parakaleo, which means, “to call alongside.” Thus, the personal presence of the one who encourages makes a great deal of difference, for only through their presence and support does the effort become effective.
The Cleveland Marathon is taking place today, right now, and it is one of the most difficult and grueling sporting events of all time. It requires great commitment, stamina, patience, and endurance to run 26.2 miles. However, the most difficult part of the race is not at the start or the finish, but the middle, when the athlete begins to feel very tired and exhausted. Despite that, the runner needs to maintain an even pace, and overcome the urge to slow down or stop, because if they do, they may never complete the race.
One thing that can help a runner to keep going is encouragement. Marathon runners have testified that crowd support helps them immensely. It may take the form of cheering, waving, clapping, or holding up a sign with the words, “Keep going! I believe in you! Don’t quit! Never give up!”
Today, spectators can use a GPS tracking system to follow each runner’s progress. They can plan to arrive ahead of time at certain strategic points of the race when their encouragement would be most needed by the runner.
St. Paul describes the Christian life as a marathon: “Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). Therefore, as fellow Christians taking part in the same race, we must exhort and encourage one another along the route. We must offer words of support to boost each other’s spirits, stimulate momentum, and goad us over the difficult spots – and sometimes even help carry one another. We must believe in each other’s abilities as they also look to us for incentive.
Those who run in marathons can only look forward to placing at the finish and/or winning the medal for participation. But the race we run as Christians; we can look forward to receiving eternal rewards in God’s Kingdom. Therefore, keep exhorting one another to persevere and not give up the race which God has called us to run.
So don’t give up. Keep going. You can do it. I believe in you!
