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Running to Win, by Franklin Graham
Like a motivated, disciplined athlete, the follower of Jesus Christ trains his soul and body to “run in such a way that [he] may win” (1 Corinthians 9:24). But unlike the fading prize of a merely physical endeavor, the disciple of Jesus Christ receives—by grace—the unfading, enduring reward of eternal life with the Savior.
That’s why we remember men like Scotland’s Eric Liddell, who won the 400 meters in Paris at the 1924 Olympics. His story was compellingly told in the 1981 Oscar-winning movie Chariots of Fire. However, we don’t still talk about him just for his amazing, gold-medal race, but for his staunch commitment to Jesus Christ and a lifetime of missionary service to the King, a service that ended in 1945 at a Japanese prison camp in China.
The Scripture says that we all are to “run with endurance the race that is set before us”(Hebrews 12:1). There will be many obstacles, temptations, trials and tribulations that the believer in Christ must negotiate along the course that God has appointed for us. But we run, and finish, and win by constantly “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,” (Hebrews 12:2). We bow humbly before Him in prayer, learn of Him through the Word, and worship Him as the Spirit of God reveals the sufficiency, majesty and glory of our Savior and Lord.
