The Race(s) - 1 Corinthian 9:24-27
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.
Diverting from Joshua a bit, but still very much linked to what I have reflected about over the past few days. We often liken our Christian life as a race. As I was running the Sundown Marathon the other day, I was suddenly struck, why not treat the different stages of our Christian walk as different races, just like we run different marathons and races physically? Our student life is one stage of our life, and therefore one race. Our working life another, and maybe our married life is another. But at different stages, we run different races and different challenges await us to tempt us to give up.
For example, I was reflecting about my student life. What could have caused me to give up? Not my result, cos I trust God enough for that. Not what I was doing to perk up my resume. What could have caused me to give up would have been the seemingly lack of results and fruits in the cg and my own life. That could have been the cause. And what could have caused you to give up in your Christian life as a student? How about working life? I figure that it will be a different ball game from the student ministry.
But yet, the basic issues would be the same. Needs not met, God not real enough etc. I think it would have just been the different forms they take. For example, when I run the stanchart marathon, I would have given up because the sun is heating up and I am dehydrating. When I run the sundown, I would have given up because of the state of sleepiness I was in. But the basic issue that tempts me to give is really the fatigue and the shagness that takes up different forms. So I wonder now, when we face different issues in our different stages of life, is there any deeper and more basic issues that we have left unsettled?
Maybe that's why Paul calls for strict training. The idea of strict training can sometimes really scare people. But if we dun really train ourselves and rectify the problems and issues that we face, then could we really last the race of life? It's just like if fatigue is the main issue why you want to give up in a marathon, then do you train your body up so that you can overcome fatigue more easily?
These are questions that we have to ask ourselves in this race of life. I am currently still praying for God to reveal areas that I need stricter training in so that I can last. So what is the areas that you are feeling weak in?
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.
Diverting from Joshua a bit, but still very much linked to what I have reflected about over the past few days. We often liken our Christian life as a race. As I was running the Sundown Marathon the other day, I was suddenly struck, why not treat the different stages of our Christian walk as different races, just like we run different marathons and races physically? Our student life is one stage of our life, and therefore one race. Our working life another, and maybe our married life is another. But at different stages, we run different races and different challenges await us to tempt us to give up.
For example, I was reflecting about my student life. What could have caused me to give up? Not my result, cos I trust God enough for that. Not what I was doing to perk up my resume. What could have caused me to give up would have been the seemingly lack of results and fruits in the cg and my own life. That could have been the cause. And what could have caused you to give up in your Christian life as a student? How about working life? I figure that it will be a different ball game from the student ministry.
But yet, the basic issues would be the same. Needs not met, God not real enough etc. I think it would have just been the different forms they take. For example, when I run the stanchart marathon, I would have given up because the sun is heating up and I am dehydrating. When I run the sundown, I would have given up because of the state of sleepiness I was in. But the basic issue that tempts me to give is really the fatigue and the shagness that takes up different forms. So I wonder now, when we face different issues in our different stages of life, is there any deeper and more basic issues that we have left unsettled?
Maybe that's why Paul calls for strict training. The idea of strict training can sometimes really scare people. But if we dun really train ourselves and rectify the problems and issues that we face, then could we really last the race of life? It's just like if fatigue is the main issue why you want to give up in a marathon, then do you train your body up so that you can overcome fatigue more easily?
These are questions that we have to ask ourselves in this race of life. I am currently still praying for God to reveal areas that I need stricter training in so that I can last. So what is the areas that you are feeling weak in?
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