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 forever. 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.
I love sports, and lately I have been watching the Major League Baseball playoffs. While home runs and game-winning hits are great, what I get really excited about are stellar defensive plays. Some of the amazing plays that are made include: 1) a jump throw in the hole at shortstop to first base to get the out, 2) a diving catch by an outfielder just above the ground, with his body laid out, and 3) a dart of a throw to second base by the catcher, to cut down a “would be” base stealer.
Whether baseball, football, soccer, tennis, basketball, volleyball or another sport, we can all think of incredible plays we have seen that seem to defy the laws of nature. I (and many other sports fans) marvel at these feats, wondering how this athlete could achieve such gravity-defying results.
The Apostle Paul talks about two popular sports in his time, track and field and boxing. And he uses these sports, and the elite athletes in them to compare to how we should approach our spiritual race to heaven.
He says we should compete to win! And this is not something left up to a roll of the dice or happenstance. No! Elite athletes train hard, regroup, then train harder and harder still. They are disciplined and trained to work through short-term pain for long-term gain. Muscles ache, they are sore, and we get tired and weary. But we get up and go harder to attain elite performance to make big plays in the field.
The risk of not training hard with spiritual disciplines and service, is to become spiritually apathetic. This will disqualify us from heaven. This doctrine is repeated over and over again in the Bible. From the goats and the lambs parable found in Matthew 15:31-46 to the classic example of Judas, a follower of Jesus who betrayed him, the Bible is clear that what counts is not where you start, but where you end up. Disciples persevere to the end.
What does it look like for me to train to make big spiritual plays with God’s power? Will I persevere through the challenges to gain the crown of glory waiting for me in heaven? Will I realize that the resulting closeness to God, as I work hard for His Kingdom, is a reward in and of itself?
Lord, help me to adjust my spiritual eyesight to focus on the greatness of achievement you call me to. You provide all I need. I just need to train my heart with a relentless pursuit of your holiness and love. May it be so!
