Eternal Rewards

Eternal Rewards

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 9:25

Amish youth may be raised to be noncompetitive and humble, but in some places—such as Holmes County, Ohio—most of them know the best way to have fun is with a game of softball. The following is a true story by John Schmid from Common Ground Ministries in Berlin, Ohio.

In Holmes County, the Amish love baseball. . . . When I played fast-pitch softball, the best teams were always made up of Amish boys who had quit school after eighth grade and hadn’t joined the church yet. Several of those teams won the State and then the USA National Softball Title in their respective divisions! At the annual Ft. Wayne softball tournament the last few years, the girls champions have been local Amish girls whose uniform is their everyday dresses. The local Amish businesses will sponsor them but only if they dress appropriately. It sort of tickled me to see a team of girls from Florida who had expensive flashy spandex uniforms and who looked like a mixture of professional athletes and Hollywood movie stars get beat by our local Amish girls wearing dresses and head scarves.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter what you’re wearing if you don’t follow the rules. First Corinthians 9:25 says, “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” (NIV).

How are you preparing for the good fight of faith? Do you discipline yourself? Do you give intentional time and attention to your faith? Does peering ahead to that eternal prize urge you on? The training we put into our feats on earth lasts only for a season, but the training and devotion we put into building our faith earns a reward we can claim for eternity!

Dear heavenly Father, may my pursuit of You and my desire to build my faith, urge me on against every temporary struggle.