“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize". 1 Corinthians 9:24.
If you're like me, you've probably been watching the Olympics, or at least the parts that interest you. Regardless of which sports you enjoy, I'm sure we can all agree that these athletes are, first of all gifted, and second of all, very determined and competitive.
The Olympics represent the pinnacle of athleticism (much like Boston is to runners), training, and competitiveness, going all the way back to ancient times. The apostle Paul used illustrations from the world of sports and athletics in several of his letters. In three Epistles, he used the image of all-out racing to urge vigorous and unrelenting pursuit of spiritual growth and service. Four times Paul spoke of his own growth and service in terms of his own such race.
We don’t know if Paul had been an athlete in his younger years. In these references to the Olympic races, he certainly showed deep interest in and understanding of competitive running. He used that understanding of the Olympic races to illustrate the basics of the Christian life.
To the gifted but immature believers in Corinth, Paul wrote, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize". 1 Corinthians 9:24. Here, Paul compares the disciplined effort necessary for spiritual growth to an Olympic athlete’s effort to win the prize that awaits only the winner of a race. Growing Christlike does not just happen on its own. God certainly “works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” Philippians 2:13, but the believer must work with God by giving serious effort to follow what the Holy Spirit teaches. “Anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules" 2 Timothy 2:5. For the disciplined believer, the prize is the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus”
The true believer demonstrates the reality of God’s work in his heart by enduring all sorts of tests in the journey to be Christlike. A believer is in training, much as an Olympic athlete must train for a race. No pain, no gain. The writer of Hebrews, no doubt, understood this when he wrote, “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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” Hebrews 12:1-3. Here, Jesus is portrayed as the finest runner, the One who sets the pace, our model and hero! Just as a runner in the Olympics must rid him/herself of anything that would hinder his running, we must rid ourselves of any sin that would do the same to us. As a runner in the games, you must keep your eyes on the finish line.
A runner must train for his race, know the rules, and commit to winning. A believer must endure hardship, exercise absolute and enduring faith in the Word of God, and keep his eyes on the goal. In the power of the cross, the believer grows more and more like the Savior. Despite obstacles, challenges, temptations, and even the threat of death, the Christian continues to run the race Christ has marked out for him. gotquestions.org
Heavenly Father, thank you for today. Thank you for showing me the way to be more like you. Be with me on this journey, running alongside me, until I cross the finish line and see Your face. In your name, Amen.
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