Run to Win
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Read this slowly:
19-23 Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!
24-25 You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.
26-27 I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.
1 Corinthians 9:19-27 (The Message)
These four things stood out to me:
1. I kept my bearings in Christ - but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view.
Jesus did this. He kept His bearings in His Heavenly Father, but He became both God and Man so that He would experience things from our point of view. Who is it that you think you can't understand? Have you imagined what it would be like to walk a day in their shoes? Are you willing to walk a day in their shoes?
2. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it.
Are you experiencing the Good News you share with others? Have you decided to "taste and see that the Lord is good"? (Psalm 34:8). Our faith is not just intellectual. It is meant to be experiential. Peace that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7). A joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter). A living hope (1 Peter 1:3). A love that will not let me go. We are invited to know these things in our mind, but also experience them in our lives. So...how do we experience this?
3. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win.
There is a big difference between being a spectator and a participant. And there is a big difference between going for a leisurely jog and running with the aim to win. Athletes who run to win train. They are careful about what they eat and drink, how much sleep they get, how often they train. They mentally prepare. And as Christians we are called to do the same. We have a call to "train" - to pray, to worship, to read the Word, to fellowship with others, to share our faith in word and deed. Peace and joy and hope and love are gifts from our Heavenly Father, but we experience them more fully when we are training to run to win. And it is a lot easier to train with a team than by yourself.
4. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.
Missing out myself...makes me wonder what I have missed that God has handed to me because I am not training to run to win. But every day His mercies are new, and He reminds me even when I fail and miss out that there is One who came, and He ran to win. (Hebrews 12:1-3)
May we be those who know in our head and experience in our lives the Gospel.
May we be those who love people enough to see things from their point of view.
May we train in a way that causes us to run to win.
May we look to the One who already won guaranteeing our victory!
See you Sunday,
Steven