24-25You'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.
26-27I 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. (The Message)
When I ran track in high school I knew that I wasn't going to win. There was just no way that I was fast enough to get points for the team so I ran the half mile the best that I could and was content not to finish last. One day at a meet they ran the 2 mile relay and I ended up needing to run and ended up as the anchor leg of the relay. I don't know if the coach figured that by the time I got the baton the race would be over and all I would have to do was finish or what was in his mind. But when I got the baton we were in third place and there were other teams gaining on us. It ended up that I ran the fastest half mile that I had ever run before. My split was over 20 seconds faster than I had run at any time and when I crossed the finish line we were still in third place and I was able to help the team get points that made a difference in the final standings. After that meet I trained harder and ran faster because I began to see how I could help the team and not just myself.
When we look at our spiritual lives in relationship to the community of Christ things begin to change. We no longer are focused upon just our own salvation, but on the ways our life impacts those around us. When we read the Bible and spend time in prayer it isn't just for ourselves it is for our brothers and sisters in Christ that we read and pray, our growth has a potential of impacting other people in ways that we can't anticipate right now.
Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:
- What do you think Paul would have included in his spiritual training routine?
- What happens when we give up training because we think it doesn't matter to anyone else?
- What does your spiritual training routine look like?
- If you knew that those around you might be counting on you to grow spiritually what would you begin to do differently today?
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