Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Running for Rewards

Good morning,

I am not a "runner".  There is a reason that I don't talk about "the resplendent run" and talk instead about "the resplendent walk".  I do love to walk briskly, though, for exercise.  Running is fine for some; I just prefer to keep my knees intact, thank you very much!  It is interesting to me that Paul, though, compares the Christian life to running a race, not to a leisurely, meandering walk.  We must not be "tiptoe through the tulips" Christians. Our text for this morning is 1 Cor. 9: 24-27 (NKJV)

24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Since this is a short passage, here it is in The Message version:

24-25 You’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.
26-27 I 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.

It is common knowledge that the Greeks were a very athletic people.  They are the originators of the Olympic Games, after all.  Perhaps this is why Paul uses a "running" or "competing" analogy in these verses.  He had just finished urging the Corinthians to set aside their personal preferences for the purpose of winning supporting a weaker brother.  Here, he is going on to exhort them to live the Christian life as if they were running a race in which there is only one winner.

The thing is that, as disciples of Jesus Christ, we have already won salvation, eternal life.  The prize Paul refers to here is a crown of reward.  Elsewhere in scripture, we are told that Christ's followers who live faithfully, doing good works ("love backs") for Him, will receive commendations at that time when Jesus Christ gives them out to His own.

I'll go into this, the BEMA seat of Christ, in more detail in tomorrow's blog post.

For now, what does Paul say here about finishing the race successfully?

1.    The first thing is to "keep our eyes on the prize".  When men have used horses for various tasks, they have sometimes put "blinders" on the animal.  These are devices that limit the horse's visual perspective.  They help the horse to remain focused on a specific task or to walk a specific path, and not to become distracted by all manner of things to the right or to the left.  That is what we must do in our following Christ, to "keep our eyes on Him, the Author and Finisher of our faith", as it says in Hebrews 12:2.  Keeping our eyes on Him is our purpose.  He IS "the ultimate prize", crowns of reward notwithstanding.

2.  Paul's second key for success is to "be temperate in all things".  The way The Message says it is "no sloppy living"!  Temperance is the opposite of overindulgence, and it is not a popular word at the moment.  Temperance goes against the natural inclinations of our flesh, which are to gratify it by doing whatever feels good at the moment, whether such actions are actually beneficial for the body, soul and spirit or not.  Some of us have such a challenge being temperate in some areas that we just have to avoid them altogether.  Drinking alcohol is one of those areas.  My husband has never touched alcohol.  His father found it impossible to be temperate with alcohol, and it made my husband's childhood pretty miserable at times.  So, my husband chose to avoid that particular trap altogether.  So, what Paul is saying here is that we should not let anything of this world control us. We are to be directed and controlled by the Holy Spirit and nothing else. Galatians 5:16 says "Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Likewise, verse 27 in today's passage refers to disciplining our bodies, bringing them under the subjection of the Holy Spirit.  If we are allowing ourselves to be hindered in our ministries by something else, which exerts undue control over us, we need to do whatever it takes to get released from that, so that we can fulfill our calling and win Christ's commendation at the BEMA seat.

What does it mean to "become disqualified" from the race (vs. 27)?  There are times when our choices take us out of the race temporarily.  God allows us free will.  That includes ignoring the Holy Spirit's urgings and indulging our fleshly desires on occasion.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Paul refers to this as "quenching the Holy Spirit".  These types of worldly decisions are not pleasing to God, nor do they advance His kingdom.  By choosing temporary pleasure over eternal gain, we set ourselves on the sidelines.  Unfortunately, the prevalence of this behavior has kept the Gospel from being preached around the world, which is heartbreaking, really... except to Satan.  He is laughing.

So, salvation through Jesus Christ is free, but the "love backs" we give to Him will cost us.  They will require us to deny ourselves and our flesh's desires, in order to run.  They will ask us to (in the words of Jesus) "take up your cross daily and follow Me." (Luke 9:23).

Lord Jesus, I love You.  I really do.  But, I find it so hard to "take up my cross daily".  The thing is: in order to pick up that cross, I have to lay down my pride and my selfishness and my fleshiness.  I can't carry the cross while holding on to all those other things.  I confess that I often quench Your Spirit, whose loving voice is telling me how to follow You.  I choose "lesser things".  For this, I apologize and (again) repent.  It is just a constant, cosmic battle.  However, Lord, You are matchless.  I would not want to follow anyone else, other than You. Why? Because You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11).  In Jesus' name, amen.

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