My Thoughts On 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body an keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

For so long I read this passage and just got confused because it says that only one receives the prize, but there is obviously more than one Christian, but while in Ignite I heard someone speak on this passage and they just simply said that it was not one singular person this passage is talking about, but it is a certain type of person. It is the person who exercises self-control and runs the race for an imperishable reward. Honestly having an imperishable reward for running this race is the only thing on the hard, hopeless days that keeps me going. On the good days I often run the race for other things. I don’t focus on the imperishable, but rather the perishable. Some things I often focus on are my appearance, my future plans, what clothes I am going to wear, or that new thing I am going to buy. All of these things perish. They won’t matter in about a week from now, much less in eternity. It takes self-control to lift our eyes from all the things around us to God who is unseen, but it is so rewarding. Here in Guatemala I am surrounded by a group of people who love me and push me towards Christ. Everyday I am reminded to focus on eternity and so in a lot of ways living here and pursuing Christ is easy because that is what is expected of me. Sometimes I get scared of returning home to a place where community like this isn’t a reality, but I know that through self-control God will give me the strength to run a race where I will receive an imperishable crown. 

Application: I will write down my fears about going home and pray that God would take away my fears and help me not to dwell on them.