“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
What are you living for? Is that a question you’ve ever thought about? When it came to purpose, Paul had quite the perspective on life. Paul viewed life as a race. We know this because he told us this many times in his New Testament writings.
He told us in Hebrews 12 that we should strip off the weight of sin. He told us in 2 Timothy 4 that he has remained faithful. But I want you to pay attention to what he says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-25.
Paul says… “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.”
When you think of your spiritual life, how often do you think about it from a competition standpoint? Most people separate sports and God. Mainly because how they act at the fields is very different than how they act in the church.
But God wants us to have this competitive edge when it comes to living out His will for our lives. He doesn’t just say run the race…He says run to receive the prize. In other words…RUN TO WIN!
What prize are you chasing? As verse 25 says, most people are running after a prize that will one day fade away. But as believers and followers of Christ, we should run after the eternal prize.
Are you running after God’s eternal prize? Are you running to WIN? God doesn’t just tell us to run the race. He wants us to run with a purpose, run to win! How do you win? I think obeying His path is a good start. He will lead you from there!