How Seriously Are You Taking It?

It takes focus, effort, energy and a great amount of self-discipline. It requires sacrifices. You don’t win easily and without effort. In fact, if you want to train like an Olympian runner there are a few requirements:

1)     Daily Routines,

2)     Keep focused on the goal,

3)     Eat for top performance,

4)     Be specific in your training, and

5)     Know when to rest.

More than once, the Apostle Paul used the imagery of an athlete running in a world class race – probably the Olympics which started long before his time. No slacker ever won the race.  Take it or leave it runners never walked off with the medals. Hit and miss athletes always seemed to fall to the bottom of the heap. Why don’t haphazard runners win? Hardly seems fair.

Winners go to sleep for the night, knowing what their plans are for tomorrow. They know what time their feet have to hit the floor if they’re going to get their practice in along with the other essentials of life. If someone asks them: “What are you up to these days?” – they don’t respond with a blank stare or a shrug of the shoulders. They aren’t living aimlessly day by day or from week to week. They know exactly what’s before them. They have a goal. When they go to the fridge they aren’t looking for junk food. They know their food intake is what fuels top-notch performance. If certain muscles are underdeveloped, they structure their routines to ensure all potentially weak areas are up to snuff. They don’t kill themselves with the grueling routines – they know what it is to find rest to replenish, refresh and recharge.

Paul said: “…but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]:

forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal

to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize

to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

Philippians 3:13-14 (Amplified)

The Apostle Paul knew the dangers of being distracted or derailed from the race he was running to the Judgment Seat of Christ. Some were priding themselves in their accomplishments and their credentials. Paul said: ‘None of it! I am not going to be distracted by focusing on my past successes or failures. If I’m going to go forward then I must look forward – not backwards! I can’t slack off. I’m not there yet. I can’t throw my arms up in the air in victory – because I haven’t made it to the finish line yet. I can not afford to even glance at anything else other than the goal before me. Even one stumble is too many. Every muscle and tendon in my body is straining and stretching forward to what lies ahead. And my eyes are fixed – looking straight ahead.”

Can you think of occasions in your life when you were extremely focused? Maybe it was working hard for a scholarship or intently looking for a job or absorbed by a hobby or pursuing a romantic relationship. Can you recall how seriously you took that pursuit? You knew you couldn’t afford to be sloppy or haphazard about it – you had to take it seriously.

What about the race you are running as a Christian? Are you motivated and focused? Are you self-disciplined in your reading and praying and other spiritual activities? Do you have a goal? How seriously are you taking your Christian responsibilities? Are you straining forward and pressing on? Can you think of three pieces of evidence in your life to support the claim that you are buckling down as a Christian and taking the spiritual race to the Judgment Seat of Christ seriously?