Measure Your Life in Love

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.“  Hebrews 12:1 NIV

It started like any other hot, humid Carolina summer morning. Early Saturday, hundreds of us gathered outside a local YMCA to watch this year’s Race4Chase kids triathlon. Sharon and I were there to cheer for six-year-old Marvel Ganson, not knowing the deeper significance of the Race4Chase movement.

Race4Chase (R4C), sponsored by the CMAK Foundation, was created to honor the life of Chase Michael Anthony Kowalski. If life is measured by length, then Chase’s life might seem small—cut short at just seven years old by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012.

But if life is measured in love, Chase’s impact is immeasurable.

Through the CMAK Foundation, his life echoes beyond his years. Their mission turns tragedy into triumph by strengthening families and communities through programs like R4C. That’s what love does. Biblical love. It transforms death into resurrection. Pain into purpose. A moment into a legacy.

If love is the measure, then our friend Rachel is lighting up heaven’s eternal scoreboard. She’s a physical therapist in an assisted living center who’s learned how to love well through everyday moments. She recently posted:

“I can convey God’s love through the fruit of the Spirit—
I’m sharing in conversation that you are loved and a child of God,
I’m smiling at you with joy,
I’m rubbing your back so you feel the peace of God,
I’m slow to be angry as we saunter along together,
I’m showing you God is good by delighting in His creation—(you),
I’m gentle and kind when I help you up off the chair or bed.”

That’s what it looks like to run the race in love.

On that blistering morning, Marvel got tired and started to sit down. But Miss Hannah, running beside him, gently said, “Oh no, that’s not happening.” And so Marvel pushed through. He crossed the finish line—sprinting—to the cheers of strangers, friends, and family alike.

I imagine a similar scene awaits each of us. Paul describes it like this:

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

So picture it: your final stretch, with friends and family among that “great cloud of witnesses,” cheering as you cross from time into eternity.

How will you measure your race?

Run the Play:
Throw off everything that hinders.
Run with perseverance.
Measure your life in love.

💬 Finding Our Place in the Story

What would change in your day if you measured your success by love rather than productivity?

Who in your life needs a reminder today that they are deeply loved by God—and how can you deliver it?

Are there things entangling you that need to be “thrown off” so you can run the race marked out for you in love?