Running the Race
I have been watching some of the Olympics on TV. Last night (8-20-08), I watched the men’s 200 Meter race. Some interesting things occured during that race.
The winner set a new World Record with a time of 19.30 seconds. That is blazing FAST! His nickname is Usain “Lightening” Bolt. He got off to a great start and kept running to the finish. He won the Gold medal!
The second and third place runners were both disqualified for stepping on the line. At first the American team, whose runner (Wallace Spearmon) was third, protested. But when they reviewed the tapes they realized that Wallace had stepped on the line. They then pointed out to the judges that the second place runner had also stepped on the line. The judges agreed and he was also disqualified.
I was a little upset by this, because of course, I am an American and I want the USA to win all the medals! Then I began to think about the rules. These athletes train, in some cases for years, for the Olympics. They know the rules better than anyone. They have practiced and practiced, so stepping on the line should not be a problem for them.
In another race, I observed someone who fell behind by a large margin and then just quit. Now in all fairness, I don’t know if this runner was hurt or not, but they didn’t finish the race. True they were not going to win but, I was always taught to finish what I started.
All of this caused me to think of another race -a Spiritual Race. The Apostle Paul admonished us, 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. (1 Corinthians 9:24) In Olympic races, there can only be one “Gold Medalist.” In the spiritual race we can all be winners if we keep our eyes on the prize. According to Paul, our prize is a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9:25)
As far as being disqualified, we too will be disqualified, if we break the rules (10 Commandments). However, unlike the Olympic judging committee, our Savior forgives us and lets us back into the race, if we seek His forgiveness. How great is our God!
When I think about the runner quitting, it reminds me of another of Paul’s writings in Galatians 5:7 where he said You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? Even when we are beaten, discouraged, rejected, dejected, tired and lonely, we must keep on obeying the truth found in God’s Word. If we do, we will be able to say with Paul (Again!) I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)
By the way, my favorite quote from the Olympics so far, was Walter Dix’s. After finishing fifth, and then moving up because of the disqualifications in the 200 Meter and then being congratulated by his manager for winning the bronze medal he said, “I Still Lost!”
*All scripture is from the NIV.