“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” – 1 Corinthians 9:25
Who do I run this race for? For the glory of God, or the glory of man? Ultimately, if I am striving after anything of this world I am running my race for the wrong reasons. That doesn’t mean that I am going after things that are morally wrong, or that I am running after things that God might ultimately want for me. But, am I running the race in my own power, to please those around me, or am I running the race completely in Him, letting Him be the strength to move my feet? We can sometime (or a lot of times) work so hard to please those around us, we can live to make others happy. We put all of our efforts in being what man wants us to be, or expects us to be. We often times run for the very things of this world that will trip us up, and bring us away from our Savior, things that only last for a season.
I love the analogy of the rope. Picture for a moment a long rope, like a really long rope. The rope is completely white, except for the very end where there is about an inch of red. The rope represents our lives, to a certain extent. The white is our life of eternity and the red is our life here on earth. We put so much effort in getting the crown that will diminish, when we should be focused on the rest of the rope, our eternity with Christ. It is like the golf ball analogy we saw in today’s video, we are so small and God is so big. Our life here on earth is so small compared to the eternity we will spend with Christ, but every choice we make here on earth will affect the rest of the rope. That doesn’t mean we will be perfect, far from it. But, another thing that stands out to me about the rope analogy is that our lives here on earth are in red. We will not be able to enter into the white, unless we are covered by the blood of Christ, and in that go through strict training to fight against our flesh and stay in the Lords will.
We truly are made for more, and when we begin to train ourselves and listen to our coach (the Holy Spirit) God will be able to use us on this earth in ways we could never imagine. So many times we think that God is looking for people that are marathon runners. People that are strong, have endurance and who have the natural ability to win. But, that is the farthest thing from the truth. God is looking for people that aren’t running a race for man, instead they are empting themselves so that God can work through them in the race. People that are willing to go through strict training so that they might bring glory to God.
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