Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  1 Corinthians 9:24-25

 

At Christmas, my mother gave me a box that was full of items from my past including my baby book, my original birth certificate, report cards from my early education, birthday cards from my early years and various other keepsake items from my childhood.  Among them were some ribbons that I won in athletic competitions. Those ribbons reminded of the competitions I took part in while in middle school on “field day”. Field day was an event held near the end of the school year where each grade would gather on the field and have track and field competitions. I was pretty good at the middle distances and won the cross-country race in the 6th grade. I had been very close to winning the mile in the 7th grade but lost by a couple of seconds to my friend Joe with whom I ran on the track team. In the winter of my 8th grade year, determined to beat Joe and everyone else on Field Day, I decided to skip the track team and train alone in secret 5 days a week. Every day when I came home from school I would run a course around my neighborhood. As the day drew near for Field Day, I went to the high school track to see if my training had paid off. When my brother called out my time as I crossed the finish line, my confidence grew because my mile time was 30 seconds faster than I had run the previous year and 20 seconds faster than the track guys had been running. Field Day came and to their shock and dismay, I beat Joe and the others by a large margin in the mile and then ran the 440 with little rest and tied for first.

 

Our Christian service is a lot like that episode. Much of the Christian life is lived out of the sight of others. We are told to both pray and give in secret. Our time in communion with the Lord in His Word is in secret. The effort spent cleansing ourselves of sin and abiding in Him that we might bear fruit is private. The result of those efforts is noticed by others. The fruit of the Sprit is evident. The strength of our faith is seen. The wisdom we gain and giftedness in service is noticed. The service that emanates from us and which touches others is recognized. If we are not shining in public, it is because we are negligent in secret spiritual disciplines. The spiritual disciplines that we practice when no one is watching matter. Without them we cannot shine.  

 

I could run to win because I prepared to win. I ran to be recognized by 400 of my classmates. I was so proud to receive those ribbons…. but after a short time, those ribbons wound up in boxes and were not seen for 45 years. Even now they are only reminders of past glory which no one involved thinks about. How different is this race the Lord has selected us for. Paul reminds us that when we prepare well and run for the prize, we are seeking a reward that is imperishable and which never fades. It is the reward of the “upward call of God (Philippians 3:14). It is a race that is won by fixing our eyes on Jesus and considering his perseverance and suffering (Hebrews 11:1-2). Those who run to win receive an “unfading crown of glory (I Peter 5:4). Let us prepare daily with discipline in the little things and then let us run with perseverance for the imperishable prize which we have in Christ.