The Slowest Gal in Ol' Mexico

“Mercy outruns malice.” – C.H. Spurgeon

Gym classes can be tough when you’re a kid if you are one of the smallest boys in your class. When it came to games such as kickball or sports like softball, I did just fine. I could also do somersaults with the best of them. However, I often struggled with activities that required size and strength, at least until I finally grew six inches between my sophomore and junior years.

Back to grade school…

The fastest kids in our class, ironically, were girls, perhaps because they matured earlier. And the fastest girls were Amy Wilson and Lisa Kramer. Time after time, they would finish first and second, no matter the distance we were running. Yours truly with his little legs would generally finish near the back of the pack… but never last, thanks to Mary McCullough, who earned the nickname “the Slowest Gal in Ol’ Mexico” among her classmates. Speedy Gonzalez she was not!

Today’s quote reminded me of a footrace mentioned in the Bible that occurred on the very first Easter morning. When Mary Magdalene told the apostles that Jesus had risen from the grave, Peter and John hightailed it to the empty tomb. Probably because he was younger, John outraced Peter, arriving there first. However, he didn’t go in right away, instead waiting for the more brash and adventurous Peter to enter first.

When Charles Spurgeon says that “mercy outruns malice,” he could be talking about how we should treat other people. Or, more probably, he is referring to how God’s mercy trumped His need to punish mankind for its manifold wickedness. That is why He sent Jesus to live a perfect life – and then to die a horrible death on the cross – pouring out His wrath on His own Son. Think about that the next time you are tempted to sin!

In the meantime, let’s run our respective races well – all the way to the finish line – for Jesus!

“I returned and saw under the sun that – The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong…” Ecclesiastes 9:11a (NKJV)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.” Hebrews 12:1 (BSB)

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.” I Corinthians 9:24 (BSB)

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President