February 13- Four Seconds Past Midnight

In 2011 an Iron Man Competition took place in Kona, Hawaii.  The Iron Man consists of a 2.4-mile swim in the open water, followed by a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon run.  You have 17 hours to finish the course with midnight being the deadline.  Nancy Summers, a 50 year-old grandmother was selected out of a lottery system to compete in the marathon.

The documentary of Nancy Summers tracked every mile in her journey.  She swam in the open waters with enthusiasm and strength; she then launched onto her bike and crossed 112 miles of mountainous terrain; finally she began her 26.2 mile course on foot.  With every step midnight was quickly approaching.  Exhausted and fatigued she crossed the finish line.  As she fell to the ground she heard someone say, “That poor woman, she missed it by 4 seconds!”  She finished the race with an official time of 17 hours and 4 seconds.  Unfortunately she could not officially be considered an Iron Man because she crossed the finish line too late.

Many people are spiritually like Nancy Summers- they are so close to heaven, yet they will cross the deadline too late.  Although they finish their course, their names are not officially recorded because they fail to trust Christ as Savior.  Four seconds into eternity is too late to make a decision about following Him.

We will have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but only one swift hour before the sunset to win them” – Robert Mofatt