Run the Race

I remember back in high school when the movie Chariots of Fire came out. I was very inspired by the true story of two British athletes running in the 1924 Olympics. Because of that movie I wanted to start running, so I decided to incorporate it into my daily life. I went outside one day anxious to start and found I could only run a short distance before I had to stop and rest. I was really surprised at how difficult it was and how much time and effort I had to have for the sport. I could only imagine how long and hard athletes in the Olympics had to train. 

In the Bible, Paul compares running to our spiritual life with God. 1 Corinthians 9:24 says, “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it”. Paul wants us to run a race far more important than any physical race, the spiritual race for our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Before we run a race we must first condition ourselves to do so. As I found out, running requires long hours of training and devotion. We must condition ourselves in our spiritual life as well. Just as athletes require themselves to complete a certain amount of physical exercise each day, we must do this with our spiritual life as well. You can start by carving out a specific time for God. It doesn’t have to be a lot of time, just get in there and do it. Pray, meditate, read the Bible, whatever you prefer. 

The prize that Paul is talking about in the Bible verse is eternal life with God. Jesus gave us this gift with his death and resurrection. In a race you run to receive a trophy, it is the most important thing to you at that moment and you want it badly. But a trophy won in our physical lives is temporary, in our spiritual life the prize is forever, the prize given to you by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

When running a physical race you must practice strict self-control. This means eating right, getting enough sleep and commitment to your daily goals. Spiritual self-control means relying on the Holy Spirit to guide you and bring you to spiritual satisfaction through Christ. Self-control is very important in our spiritual life, so much so that it is one of the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  

When running our spiritual race Paul tells us to “Run in such a way that you may win it”. It is important to know that if you love and believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ you have already won the race. It is like in the movie “Chariots of Fire”, one of the athletes in the movie runs for God; we can be that runner. We have been given the glory of God in that we may have eternal life in Jesus Christ. Run your race and be forever grateful for the eternal love given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Dear God, we are very grateful that we have received the ultimate prize of eternal life by believing in and worshipping our Lord Jesus Christ; thank you for helping us win the race. Amen 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My First Blog Post

Image
​This is my first blog post. I have to tell you that I am quite unsure of myself. I have been reading other blog posts and wonder if I can measure up. I am an upper middle aged woman who loves to read and write. I have stacks of books and journals to prove it.  My first blog post is going to be about my great-grandmother. I was about five years old when I stayed overnight. I had fun helping my grandma in the garden that day and helping her to make dinner, or supper where I’m from.   When the day was over, my grandma put me on the couch to sleep since they didn’t have any guest bedrooms. She had a big writing desk that was across the room from the couch. I really was’t that sleepy since it was quite a bit before my regular bedtime so I waited and watched what she did.  Next she went to the writing desk and sat down and pulled out a little book with a rough looking cover. She started writing in it and she wrote for quite a long time. I was starting to get sleepy but I manag...
Read more

Lost and Found

Image
​Have you ever lost your child? Even for a short time? I have, and I can tell you it was one of the most stressful days of my life.  My children are 35 and 33 now, and even though they’re adults, I still worry about them. I worry about them getting into a car crash, getting seriously ill, or other needless worries. I know God says not to worry, but I’m a mother and I still do. I remember one time when my son was three years old and I was very worried about him. We went to the grocery store; just another typical shopping trip. I had some film I wanted developed, so I went to the service counter. In those days, you put the film in a little bag and wrote what type of prints you wanted, your address, and other things on the bag.  My son was near me and he wandered over to a toy section close by. I filled out the information for the film and turned back to get him, and he was gone. Terror struck my heart! Where was he? I was sure he hadn’t gone too far, so I searched for him. Sever...
Read more

Temptation in the Desert

I was reading the Bible and was struck by the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert. When Jesus was thirty years old, the Holy Spirit led him into the desert to be tempted by the devil for 40 days. (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13) When we think of Satan it is common for us first to think of him in the form of a man, maybe wearing a red suit with horns on his head. We all know of course that this is not how the evil one looks but he can take on many forms. In Genesis three he is most famously found in the form of a snake. In the New Testament he is shown several times in the demons that Jesus exorcised. Also in the New Testament Satan confronts Jesus through Judas. In the story of Jesus’ temptation scripture doesn’t say what form Satan takes but I imagine him in human form or as a fallen angel. So with his ability to take on any form we can imagine him alive and well in today’s society. Jesus was tempted by Satan at the beginning of his ministry to prove that Jesus was sin...
Read more