SATURDAY June 7, 2025

The Competitor

And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
2 Timothy 2:5

Paul concluded his analogy of a soldier and went on to the next subject––an athlete. If an athlete did not train and prepare, how could he compete? If an athlete does not follow the competitive rules, they will be disqualified, and they will not win a crown. In the Greek Olympics, the victor’s crown was a garland of olive leaves––a perishable crown.

The Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles from July 14 to July 30, 2028. This will be a very exciting time. Each athlete will have to adhere to the rules set down by the International Olympic Committee. Those competing in the Olympics have already trained rigorously to reach a high standard in order to qualify to enter the Olympic Games.

An Olympian’s training is very disciplined and intense. It requires a strict regimen, including what time they go to sleep, wake up, and what diet they adhere to. An athlete will train multiple times during the day, often six days a week. They have to build strength and endurance; otherwise, they are not going to compete well enough to win a medal.

It is the same with us as Christians. We are all competing in a spiritual race. The important thing is to finish the race. Did you know that in heaven different crowns will be given to believers as rewards? Using the same analogy as an athlete, Paul encouraged us to run for the prize of an imperishable crown:

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. 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 (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

If you view yourself as a Christian athlete, in what ways would you change the way you live your life?

If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.
~Eric Liddell~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!