Alex Lloyd

Alex Lloyd finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 last year, but he almost didn’t qualify for this year’s race. With just nine minutes left to qualify last Sunday, Lloyd had still not posted a good enough time to be included in the 2011 Indy 500. He found himself on the outside looking in, and faced the prospect of not being included in the field of racers this year. But he finally qualified, and had this to say about his experience: “Every other race is important, but Indy is what gets me up in the morning. All of a sudden, when you have the realization that we might not make this race, when we crossed the line and I knew I was safe, the feeling was beyond anything I’ve ever felt in my career.”

We can’t possibly qualify for heaven on our own. That’s why Jesus came to earth—to qualify for us—to offer his life in order to redeem our lives. All we have to do to qualify for heaven is accept Jesus as our Savior.

However, God has given us a race to be run. He wants us to live for him for the rest of our lives. “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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

The feeling we will have when we cross life’s finish line and pass into eternity won’t be like the experience a qualifying Indy car driver has. It will be much better!