Run To Win!

Run to Win!

Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

Hebrews 12:1-2

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. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

The Olympic Games took place in Greece every four years without interruption from 776 BC until AD 393. That’s 1,169 years! Since everyone in Corinth knew about the Games, Paul’s readers could picture exactly what he was talking about when he wrote about running in a race to win. And so can we.

But Paul doesn’t just want us to imagine athletes running in the race. He wants us to consider all the discipline and effort that go into training for the race. Olympic runners don’t approach their training by trying to figure out the least amount of work they can do to get by. They do whatever needs to be done to bring about their best performance on the track.

And so should we in this race called the life of faith. Rather than putting in the least amount of effort toward godliness, we give our full attention and energy to the task of becoming like Christ and living for the glory of God. We ask ourselves, What will make me most useful for the Kingdom? What will stir up my passion for God most? What will make me more genuine in prayer? What will trigger more hunger for God’s Word? What will strengthen my commitment to love others? What will give me a greater desire for holiness? And then we run in that direction.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Do you think you would ever want to run a marathon or compete in the Olympics? Why or why not?

How is the prize an Olympic runner gets different from the prize won by a person who runs the race of faith?

What kinds of things weigh people down or trip them up in their faith race?