12/08/2020
Running the Path for Christ
Are you a spectator, or running the race?
Written by Gary Fleetwood on 11/08/2020
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Discipline, Perseverance, Sacrifice, Race, Endurance
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
1 Corinthians 9:24
When I was in college I played soccer for a team that was very successful. The men recruited were highly skilled players who understood the game. However, I quickly learned that no matter how skilled someone was, they really had no lasting value to the team if they were not willing to do what was necessary to stay in great physical shape. The same is true for the spiritual race that we find ourselves in as Christians. If we are going to be successful spiritually, then there are certain qualities that must be developed in our life, and each one of them is similar to what is required of an athlete.
What do I need to do in order to win a race?
Training to win a race or a contest requires three specific qualities – discipline, endurance, and sacrifice.
Am I just a spectator? Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…”
The first thing we notice is that we are in a spiritual race. Unfortunately, many Christians are not in the race, but are just spectators watching other Christians actually run the race. They have a nice seat in the stands, have bought some refreshments, and are sitting in the shaded area just watching everyone else run the race. They simply have not understood that the Christian life is a “race” that has been “set before us”.
The Christian life is described as a “race”
In 2 Timothy 4:7 Paul says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” So, it is critical that we understand what a race requires. Every athlete