Good Friday to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
I’m sure you’ve noticed, no matter where you live, no matter your age or your gender or marital status, COMPETITION has woven its way into the fabric of life for all of us, right? At this time of year sports competition is rapidly rising to almost a fever pitch at least in America. College and Pro football season are about to begin, and stadiums filled with nearly 100,000 fanatics will rally millions of people every weekend to unbridled passion! That’s a picture of athletic competition at all levels in all places, for we love to cheer a winner, don’t we?
And of course, competition is what makes economies thrive all around the world as businesses compete for everyone’s spending. And as school begins for students of all ages, report cards remind us of the academic competition! But have you noticed how competition has woven itself even into social media platforms like Facebook and what used to be called Twitter, as people compare themselves to what they see or read about going on in the lives of other people?
Competition can be helpful, healthy and invigorating, but it can also be damaging, discouraging and even destructive. Once again, amazingly, as Paul is writing his first letter to his Christian friends in Corinth, Paul has some wise advice about competition! Let’s watch as Paul concludes his 9th chapter: “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! Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last.” (1 Cor. 9:24,25)
In the first century cities like Corinth, Athens, Ephesus and even Rome were very enthusiastic about athletic competition. In fact, that is where the Olympic games began, and so as Paul writes he uses terms and word pictures that his readers will both understand and embrace because athletic competition was so important to them.
Let’s look closely, what does Paul mean about the winner crowns, some that last and some that don’t? In Paul’s day the athletic victor crown was usually a leafy, flowering branch woven into a crown. It looked beautiful for a short time, but because it was a living branch, once severed from the tree, it soon withered and died. The symbolism was very powerful. For this moment, this crowned victor is a champion, but time changes things and tomorrow or next year this same person may not be the champion as someone younger or stronger may surpass them, so enjoy this victorious moment, it won’t last.
But Paul wanted his Christian friends to remember he had taught them that God’s people will be awarded eternal crowns when we arrive in God’s presence. There are several but I mention one that seems to have been special to Paul as he wrote about it to Timothy in the final chapter of his final letter, 2 Timothy 4:7,8 “The time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me but to all who long for His appearing.” May I ask you my friends, will you be able to say the same when you’re on your final lap of the race of your life?
Do you see Paul’s encouragement to see life as a race that we all run? Do you see Paul’s challenge both to train well and to run well, with not only the finish line in mind but also the trophy presentation as an anticipated, delightful treasure? Is that how you are living your life my friends? I’ve noticed something about runners in races. For the short distance sprinters, they watch the other runners carefully, often gaining motivation to run faster because another runner is gaining on them or moving beyond them. But long-distance runners don’t seem to focus nearly as much on the other runners in their race.
Proficient long-distance runners seem to know themselves very well and they have both a pace and a rhythm which they feel confident will work for them regardless of what other runners do. I am fascinated to see those well disciplined runners maintain their pace as sometimes other runners run by them and then later falter having expended too much energy too early.
So, let’s accept Paul’s challenge and ponder our race, our pace and our training for a moment. Are you sure you are still on the racetrack and is God leading you, or have you wandered off the track and are you running in the weeds or even the forest? Is it possible you’ve lost your way in life? Is today the day you reconnect with your ‘life Coach’ Jesus and get back on the right road He has for your life?
And what about our training my friends? Regardless of your education, your family of origin, your friends, your vocational history or even your police record, what have you been doing to train your mind, your heart, your character for the challenges of life you will certainly face on the journey ahead of you? That is one of the purposes of “Walking with Jesus”, helping you train your soul and spirit for your life journey! God’s Word the Bible is your best life training manual, are you immersing yourself in it every day, so you can discern the guidance of your life Coach Jesus? He will help you with the right pace at which you should be living life at your current stage of life!
In closing today, look at how Paul wraps up this ‘life coaching’ paragraph he’s writing to athletic competition crazed Corinth: “Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly. I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Cor. 9:26,27) Oh my what a powerful statement! Do you hear the voice of a man who lived his live with purpose, intentionally using his time, his talents, his abilities, his training to step into each opportunity God gave him, with enthusiasm, seeking to make it count? In fact, when writing to the Ephesians Paul wrote this: “Be very careful how you live, not as unwise but as wise people, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (Eph. 5:15,16) Is that how you are I are living each day my friends?
In closing today may I draw our attention to Paul’s last phrase: “I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” Is there anything more shameful than disqualification in competition? We’ve seen it often recently as blood tests have proven some athletes have been using performance enhancing drugs giving them an unfair advantage over other athletes. Paul is not saying he physcially harms himself but rather than he disciplines himself, especially his morality, so after he has proclaimed the wonder of God’s truth, nothing can be found in his life that would contradict what he has spoken about the work of God in the life of a person who has trusted Jesus!
Can you and I look very closely at our lives? Is there anything that disqualifies us from claiming to be a follower of Jesus or offering the Gospel of Jesus to someone seeking God’s help? That’s an important question for all of us, isn’t it? And here’s a song to help us contemplate our life race, my friends…
Today’s Scripture is 1 Cor. 9:24-27.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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