MONDAY 1 Corinthians 9:23-27
In this passage, the apostle Paul used more Greek Olympic words and images than he did anywhere else. (That made particular sense in a letter to Corinth, which hosted popular contests every two years called the Isthmian Games.)
• In what ways does it affect your energy and motivation to have a goal? Living as a Christian isn’t just an aimless set of routines. Paul said it’s a goal-oriented way of life. How would you define the goal of “running to win” in the Christian life? How can having a spiritual goal reshape your everyday life?
TUESDAY 2 Corinthians 5:10-21
While there have to be human standards for judging not only Olympic events but many other issues, Paul said God’s judgment doesn’t use any of those human standards (verse 16). God’s standard of judgment is whether we join in God’s work of reconciling a broken world to God.
• During your daily activities, how often do you think of yourself as an ambassador who represents Christ (verse 20)? What do you think it looks like to be an ambassador who represents Christ in your business dealings, at a kids’ baseball or soccer game or when you deal with a store clerk? How can you learn to discern what Christ would have you do in all of life’s varied situations?
WEDNESDAY Ephesians 4:11-16
The letter to the Ephesians also offered insight into the goal-oriented nature of the Christian life. Each of us makes a unique contribution to the church’s overall mission, based on our particular set of gifts, talents and interests. As a body, rather than as isolated individuals, we move toward God’s goal, which is “for us to become mature adults” (verse 13).
• Why is God’s goal our spiritual maturity? Scholar N. T. Wright said, “Without maturity new Christians are very vulnerable to all kinds of trickery that may take them a long way from where they ought to be. In verse 14 Paul brings together three ideas: babies, a boat tossed on a stormy sea, and tricksters gambling with loaded dice. It’s hard to picture them all together, but … new Christians are every bit as vulnerable now as then.” Read the passage again, focusing on the standards it identifies for assessing your spiritual maturity. How can focusing on those things help you mature spiritually?
THURSDAY James 1:2-12
In James 2:12, we once again find the word stephanos (the wreath of leaves with which an
Olympic winner was crowned). Like Paul, James said that the reward God has for those who faithfully follow him through life’s trials and struggles is even greater than an Olympic prize. “They
will receive the life God has promised to those who love him,” he said. Our reward, our “crown,” is
the kind of life God gives us.
• Scholar William Barclay said, “What is the crown? It is the crown of life; and that phrase means that it is the crown which consists of life. The crown of the Christian is a new kind of living which is life indeed … . The struggle is the way to glory, and the very struggle itself is a glory.” In what ways have you found “a new kind of living which is life indeed” in following Jesus? How have struggles and trials helped shape your new kind of living?
FRIDAY 1 Timothy 6:7-12
Perhaps surprisingly to us, Olympic athletes in Paul’s times often became very wealthy. The Lexham Bible Dictionary reports that “a boxer named Theagenes won $44 million in today’s currency throughout his career.” But Paul told Timothy to compete for an even more valuable prize.
• In what ways do “righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance and gentleness” equip a Christian to “compete in the good fight of faith”? (See also Ephesians 6:11-17, where the imagery is military rather than Olympic.) Which of these aspects of the Christian life are you currently using most effectively in the good fight? In which do you most wish to grow stronger?
• It’s been said that although many people give lip service to the idea that money can’t buy happiness, most of us give life-service to the hope that it just might, after all. What are the driving motivations for the way you live your life? What are you running away from, and what goal are you pursuing with all your might?
SATURDAY 7.21.12 Philippians 3:10-14
In these stirring words, the apostle Paul bore his personal testimony to the way that he kept straining forward to grow into all God had called him to be. As The Message paraphrases these powerful verses, he said “I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me … . I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.”
• Scholar William Barclay said Paul’s word for reaching out “is very vivid and is used of a racer going hard for the tape. It describes him with eyes for nothing but the goal. It describes the man who is going flat out for the finish.” Whatever your age or life stage, how can you live your life in such a way that you, too, are going flat out for the goal God has called you to? What choices can you make this week or this month, that will free you to run God’s race with eyes for nothing but the prize?