The Race of Life

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.
1 Corinthians 9:25

Everyone trains. Don't we? Can you imagine an Olympic athlete going to the Olympics without training? There is no way they would win. They would complete waste the opportunity they had to compete in the Olympic games. Because of that they train....and train hard.

But we train too, don't we? We work hard. We learn things. We try to get better. We devote a lot of time and energy to things that we value.

Paul brings up this point to cause us to reflect if the things that we are working so hard towards (just like an athlete training for their event) are things that are eternal or not?

I wonder how God feels when He looks down and sees how I am spending my time? I wonder if He smiles because the things that I am working hard towards will make an eternal difference, or if He lovingly shakes His head knowing that I am only working, sacrificing, and devoting myself to things that will not last.

When we set our eyes on God and try to live like Jesus, our lives will result in things that will last forever - heavenly crowns that await us if we would only "train" to be faithful to Him. Let's train hard and remember why we should train in the first place.

Pastor Steve