MARCH 22, 2013
Going
For The Prize
Read: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Everyone who competes
for the prize . . . [does] it to obtain a perishable
crown, but we for an
imperishable crown. —1 Corinthians 9:25
Every
March, the Iditarod Trail Race is held in Alaska. Sled dogs and their
drivers,
called “mushers,” race across a 1,049-mile route from Anchorage to
Nome. The
competing teams cover this great distance in anywhere from 8 to
15 days. In
2011, a record time was set by musher John Baker who covered
the entire route
in 8 days, 19 hours, 46 minutes, and 39 seconds. The teamwork
between dogs and
driver is remarkable, and those who compete are tenacious
in their efforts to
win. The first-place winner receives a cash prize and a new
pickup truck. But
after so much perseverance in extreme weather conditions,
the accolades and
prizes may seem insignificant and transient.
The
excitement of a race was a familiar concept to the apostle Paul, but he
used
competition to illustrate something eternal. He wrote, “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 Cor. 9:25).
Sometimes
we are tempted to place our emphasis on temporal rewards, which
perish with the
passing of time. The scriptures, however, encourage us to focus
on something
more permanent. We honor God by seeking spiritual impact that
will be rewarded
in eternity.
Here we labor, here we pray,
Here we wrestle night and day;
There we lay our burdens down,
There we wear the victor’s crown. —Anon.
Run the race with eternity in view.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
