The Standard June 10, 2023
June is an exciting month in the world of sports. Champions were just crowned in the NCAA Division One Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. The National Basketball Association finals are close to halfway through. The 123rd US Open (golf) at the Los Angeles Country Club and the Men’s College World Series in Omaha are about to begin. At the USA Gymnastics Championships in Tulsa the U.S. Junior and Senior National Teams will be named.
It goes without saying that most successful athletes dedicate an unbelievable amount of time and energy to physical training. Almost everything in their lives revolves around the goal to win. Their schedules, diets and mindsets usually reflect this determination to be the best. Achieving success at the highest levels does not happen overnight. It takes years and years. The best athletes forgo many things they might enjoy in order to focus on training. Some of their sacrifices are difficult for most of us to imagine.
As Christians, how much more valuable is our goal to live in obedience to God’s call? Most athletes have a relatively small window of time to be at their peak performance. Spiritually speaking, we can continue to grow as disciples as we age, becoming more and more like Christ. The honors or awards of athletes are exciting but often are overshadowed quickly by the accomplishments of others. Nothing can compare to the prize of everlasting life in the presence of God for those who have been transformed by the Holy Spirit.
The apostle Paul draws a good analogy between the spiritual life and the life of athletes. “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 a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)
To be in good physical shape is wonderful, but to be spiritually fit is even better. Spiritual disciplines like praying, worshiping, confessing, fasting, serving, giving and reading Scripture are practices which combine to help us run the race as to get the prize. They do not earn God’s love, since that is freely given, but they enable us to reflect Jesus more thoroughly.
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