Long after the sun had set on the Boston Marathon, the official clock turned off, and the crowds had all but gone home, 39 year old Venezuelan, Maickel Melamed crossed the finish line around 4 A.M., 20 hours after the race began. What made Maickel's race significant is that he suffers from a disease similar to muscular dystrophy, which meant he didn't so much run the race as walk it. As he reflected on his accomplishment, Maickel stated, "In any marathon, you have to know why you're doing it. Because in the last mile, the marathon will ask you." Part of Maickel's motivation came from wanting to honor Boston Children's Hospital where he was treated as a child.
Possible Preaching Angles: (1) Endurance; Perseverance; Overcoming—The New Testament compares the Christian life to a race, perhaps much like a marathon. In those times of struggle, we need to know why (or more accurately, for whom) we are in this. Christ is the one we look to; the one we run to; the one we run for. (2) Second Coming; Christ, Return of—Christ's return also gives us hope on the race of life.