This Sunday was none like other since I started attending church in the Northern part of Johannesburg. My usual expectation was that it was going to be one of the many services I had previously attended since I moved to Johannesburg. What else would you expect from a church service; singing of hymns and listening to the pastor go on and on about God. Of course, this Sunday was no different from the others in terms of the core of the message. It was about Jesus and our walk with him. What stood out for me was the approach in which the preacher delivered the message. It was quite a refreshing experience and he caught the eyes of everybody at the service.

From start to finish, I could not help but fix my eye on him as he moved from left to right on the pulpit. When he stepped on the pulpit, my first impression was that we were going to be bored to death. In a matter of minutes, this six-foot man, with slender body type has managed to attract my attention in a way I did not expect. He looked very comfortable and relaxed as if he was going to talk his friends. Then he sat down in one of chairs on the pulpit. He started asking how many of us had watched the Olympics in London. And then he asked how many of us in the room had run the Comrade Marathon. Only one person raised his hand. He himself had run the marathon and completed successfully.

He narrated through his experience on the preparations one has to make before he or she is accepted into the marathon. One needs to be prepared by using all sort of gym equipment such as treadmills to get fitness level up to scratch, especially to strengthen the endurance of the heart. Also you need to be part of a recognized fitness group for a certain period of time. Further, your health must be in the best of shapes. If any of these was not right, you cannot run for the Comrade Marathon.

He also narrated his experience on the day of the marathon and how good it was and how bad it was at the same time. Getting to the last kilometers, he needed the medical attention of health professionals and only managed to finish the race five minutes before the end of the time set for the race.

The aim of his story was to draw parallels with our walk with Jesus. He said that our walk with the Lord requires us to endure a lot of hardships. We can only endure, if we are well prepared. To prepare, you do not need treadmills or jogging, but the word of God and prayer. He said that the hardships we face are not to harm us, but to examine us and to build character in us. He used his practical experience to illustrate a biblical principle that all Christians must follow.