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. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
-1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Always the consummate public speaker, the apostle Paul's analogy of the runner in a race must have had a significant impact on the mind of the first century Christian. Yet, for all of it's obvious spiritual life application, I don't think Paul understood just how relevant his words would be in the years to come.
The writing of 1 Corinthians isn't the only significant thing that happened in the year 54 AD. That same year, in the heart of the Roman empire, a tyrant known as Nero became the Emporer. It would be ten short years later, that Nero would blame the great fire of Rome on Christians which would, in turn, become the springboard for the empire-wide persecution of Christians.
Tacitus, a Roman politician of the time, had this to say in his annals XV about the ordeal:
"to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace"
I wonder how many who heard Paul's words about the race went on to be persecuted for their faith. Indeed, how many literally ran from the Romans in an attempt to survive torture and death?
How many ran the spiritual race that Paul was talking about? Paul talks about discipline and training. He talks about having direction and purpose. He talks about not beating the air aimlessly. He talks about focus.
Is this why the early church became such a threat to Rome? Was it too focused? Was it too organized? Was it growing too quickly? It is a complex historical issue, to be sure.
So, we train. We focus. We learn and grow. We do these things, so that when we enter the race we can garner an eternal crown. Everyone runs. Not everyone wins.
Paul's race could very well have been a reference to the Great Comission of Jesus Christ. This is the race that we Christians are admonished to run, all the days of our lives. It is the heart of our collective purpose as a body of believers.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
-Matthew 28:18-20
Go run the race...and win. The world is waiting.
-1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Always the consummate public speaker, the apostle Paul's analogy of the runner in a race must have had a significant impact on the mind of the first century Christian. Yet, for all of it's obvious spiritual life application, I don't think Paul understood just how relevant his words would be in the years to come.
The writing of 1 Corinthians isn't the only significant thing that happened in the year 54 AD. That same year, in the heart of the Roman empire, a tyrant known as Nero became the Emporer. It would be ten short years later, that Nero would blame the great fire of Rome on Christians which would, in turn, become the springboard for the empire-wide persecution of Christians.
Tacitus, a Roman politician of the time, had this to say in his annals XV about the ordeal:
"to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace"
I wonder how many who heard Paul's words about the race went on to be persecuted for their faith. Indeed, how many literally ran from the Romans in an attempt to survive torture and death?
How many ran the spiritual race that Paul was talking about? Paul talks about discipline and training. He talks about having direction and purpose. He talks about not beating the air aimlessly. He talks about focus.
Is this why the early church became such a threat to Rome? Was it too focused? Was it too organized? Was it growing too quickly? It is a complex historical issue, to be sure.
So, we train. We focus. We learn and grow. We do these things, so that when we enter the race we can garner an eternal crown. Everyone runs. Not everyone wins.
Paul's race could very well have been a reference to the Great Comission of Jesus Christ. This is the race that we Christians are admonished to run, all the days of our lives. It is the heart of our collective purpose as a body of believers.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
-Matthew 28:18-20
Go run the race...and win. The world is waiting.
