Good morning,
I think it’s fascinating that when a person trusts Jesus as their Savior and Lord they are automatically signed up for a mandatory spiritual race. This is a strange race indeed. In the sports races we are familiar with, it doesn’t matter how many people are running, only one person gets the first prize. In some marathon races there may be thousands of people involved, but in the spiritual race we have joined, there must be millions of people involved. Is it true that there will be only one winner and the rest of us are losers? Is it true that only Peter and Paul or Martin Luther and Billy Graham are the finalists in this race? God’s race doesn’t work this way at all. Each of us can run this race and win a prize. The race isn’t based on being better than anyone else. This race is based on meeting God’s standards for us as we live through the circumstances that he has planned for each of us.
Paul tells us that the only way to win this prize is to be people who practice strict self-control. This word self-control has come on hard times since most of us have tried and failed to meet the standard we have set for ourselves. We easily forget that self-control for the believer is not based on our undependable natural self but is based on the truth that one of the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit is self-control. God doesn’t want us to win this race by trying harder than the next person. He wants us to win the prize waiting for us at the end of the race based on our willingness to allow the Holy Spirit to control our old self centered nature. If we are going to win this race God’s way, we must be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to lead and empower us each step we take each day. When obedience to God’s Word and an openness to his leading guide us through life, we can look forward to a smiling Savior who will begin our award ceremony with a resounding “Well done, good and faithful servant.” May God use this truth to energize us for his service during these challenging days.
I Corinthians 9:24 Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. 25 All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step.
Roy Wisner
