Did you Qualify? Did you get accepted?
These questions are frequently tossed about by marathoners in late September regarding the Boston Marathon.
Registration for the Boston Marathon now begins in mid-September and ends within approximately 10 to 14 days. Registration ends once approximately 28,000 runners receive acceptance.
Everyone eagerly awaits the email determining one's Marathon fate for the coming April.
For comparison, I registered for my first Boston Marathon, booked a room at the Sheraton near the finish line, and began looking for flights in February 1995. The following year, the BAA increased the field limit from 10,000 to near 30,000 runners to accommodate the 100th Boston Marathon.
Today, acceptance into the Boston Marathon requires running an unknown margin beyond the qualifying time or buying an entrance through charity fundraising. In fairness, it’s the BAA’s race and they have the right to set whatever standards they choose.
Conversely, I am relieved that eternal life with God does not require certain standards nor can anyone buy God’s favor and their way into an eternal relationship with God.
Rather, when we recognize and repent of our sin, knowing that it is only forgivable through belief in Jesus Christ, including His death and resurrection.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)
Rejoice!
Rather than looking for the famous BAA Boston Marathon logo and symbols, look for the cross to assure entrance.
You can do nothing to qualify for heaven on your own. Jesus Christ has qualified every person who turns to him for forgiveness of sins for an eternal relationship with God.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Through belief in and dependence on Jesus, the answer is always, "Yes."
Yes, you qualified and are accepted through Him for an eternal relationship with God.
