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24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25 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 9:24-25 NIV
What does it mean for Christians to run “in such a way as to get the prize?” No, Paul is not telling us to lace up our running shoes and go “pound the pavement” in a brisk 3-mile run. Or to buy all the gadgets that promise to cut minutes off your mile. Who even coined the term, pound the pavement? Even when I was a runner that was not a flattering descriptor although, based on the feelings in my joints upon my return from a long run it was painfully accurate.
If you love to run lace up those shoes! But Paul is talking about steadfast preparation, endurance, and focus on the prize of our Heavenly reward. Just like the runner, there are things we must do to run our best race, things like prayer, being in the Word of God, devoting time to worship, service and sharing the Gospel. Pause and take inventory. Are you using all the tools and gifts you have been bestowed to run with abandon into the arms of Jesus and receive your Heavenly reward? Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate weaknesses in your training regimen and to help guide you. For me, there is a direct relationship between my proximity to the Bible and my perceived closeness to God. The less time I spend in scripture the more my focus shifts from Him and lands on me. I cannot run the race as God intends when the focus is on myself, left to my own devices I might even oversleep my alarm!
26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.
1 Corinthians 9:26 NIV
Prepare yourselves my brothers and sisters in Christ, you are already in the race, focus on the Heavenly Crown!
Lord Jesus help me to stay the course, to run the race before me. To build the endurance I need by drawing close to You and Your Word. May the tests and trials of this life refine me, and the chatter of this wicked world be ignored. I am not a spectator in this life, I was appointed, tasked, and equipped by my Father in Heaven. I will serve Him all my days, all the glory rests on Him alone. -Amen