1 Corinthians 8-11
When I was a freshman in high school I decided to turn out for track. The event I chose was the javelin, mainly because I did not have to work very hard and I got to throw something dangerous! Anyway, a few days before a meet my coach told me the 800 relay was in need of someone to run a leg. He wanted to know if I would be willing to do so. Not being good at saying no, I said I would and since I had 3 or 4 days to train I figured I would be okay.
When meet day came it was not long before I was ardently wishing I had not agreed to run the race. It was pretty much all I could do to jog 200 meters, let alone sprint, and the result was that the other team pretty much finished the race before I finished my leg. It was humiliating! (Especially so when I noticed some cute girls in the stands)
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul uses running and boxing as metaphors for the Christian life. In this section he makes it clear that discipline and self-sacrifice are necessary for living as a Christ follower. In drawing this analogy Paul anticipated that the Corinthians would think of the major games the city of
Paul’s point is that if those who ran for a temporal prize were willing to be disciplined and to sacrifice, what about those whose race involves an eternal prize? The training required for the Olympic games likely had to do with honoring the games themselves. Even today we understand that. Could you imagine a coach asking a young man a few days before the competition if he would run a race in the Olympics even though he had never trained? Of course not! That would be an affront to the Olympics.
Should not followers of Jesus want to honor him in how they live and in what they give themselves too, as well? To finish well in life and to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your master!” What better prize to win than that?
Nils
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