Today in NASCAR, even with all the officials that hover around the garage area, there are teams that still try and cheat. Then end up getting disqualified for the race all together, and if that is not enough, there are fines and suspensions that can come along with it. So with that being said, how are we running the race of life? Are we running a race that brings glory to God and follows God's will? Or are we doing it our way?
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 it says;
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 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 after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
I have found, over the last year and a half or so that I have been involved with my church, that the people that I know outside my church have come to expect me to be a man of honesty, faith and virtue. I have no problems with those expectations and in fact I love the accountability, but shouldn't those standards apply to everyone no matter how involved we are with the church? Whether we are leaders in the church or just starting with the church, our adventure of a life following Christ should call us to a higher and nobler life.
I believe that in every one of us that we have an imprint of our Creator on our souls. You can see it every time there is a disaster somewhere in the world, everyone jumps in and lends a hand to help people that they don't even know. I think that it is God's holy character that comes out when that kind of stuff happens. We all have times that we go the ways of the world instead of God's way, and if you are like me there are more times that you have done it than not. Even as I sit here and write this, I look back at the times that I could have done God's will and have not, and I get upset about it. However, we can not look back on our failures but look for the opportunities that God gives us, and do everything we can to not let it happen anymore.
I can say that in the race of life, that thankfully we have been given the perfect qualifying lap and the perfect race through Jesus Christ. Jesus gave His life as a perfect substitution on our behalf to bring us into a right standing with God. We can not earn our way into God's favor, but since Jesus got us God's favor, we can live our lives as an offering to Him. As we grow in our faith we start to take on Christ-like behavior, and it will be His character people will see in our day to day activities.
I think today we must submit our lives to God's authority if we want to produce a life that is consistent with Christ's character. By faith, Christ has qualified every one of us to run the race. So lets not take ourselves out of the race, but let's set a pace that others can follow.
Monday, February 22, 2010
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