2/15/09 - Epiphany 6, 1 Cor. 9:24-27

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE
- The prize is the reason why you run
- The prize is the reason how you run

In 46 AD, just a decade or so removed from the death and resurrection of Christ, the Roman Emperor at the time, Julius Caesar, rebuilt the long-ruined city of Corinth. And along with the restoration of this famous Greek city came the reinstitution of some famous athletic games: the Isthmian Games. Very similar to the Olympic Games that were started in the city of Olympia, the Isthmian Games were named such because they were held on the Isthmus of Corinth - a narrow strip of land that connects one part of Greece with the other. Athletes from all over the country would come to participate in these games that were held in Corinth every two years. There were various athletic events - wrestling, boxing, running; there were chariot competitions, horseback riding, and even some musical contests. And the winner of each one of these games was given a crown, a laurel made out of branches from a fir tree.
About ten years after Corinth was rebuilt and these Isthmian Games were once again celebrated by the citizens of Greece, the apostle Paul sat down to write his first letter to the congregation in Corinth. And near the end of chapter nine of this epistle, the apostle points their attention to the athletes and the training and the games that they knew so well. “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.” Paul uses a well-known event in the lives of the Corinthians to make a very powerful point: Keep your eyes on the prize. Because the prize is the reason why you run and it is also the reason how you run.
The actual prize at the Isthmian Games wasn’t worth much, of course. Fir branches woven together and placed on top of the head of the winners doesn’t sound all that great. But that prize was something very special to all who participated in the games nevertheless. That laurel was the gold medal of the day when there was no such thing as silver or bronze for 2nd and 3rd place. That little crown of foliage was a first place ribbon at a grade school track meet or a cheap plastic trophy proudly placed on top of the shelf in the room of a five-year-old t-baller. The prize itself, branches and needles from the nearby forest, wasn’t worth much in and of itself. But what it meant was priceless. That wreath indicated who the champion was. It brought honor, it brought glory, it brought praise, it brought pride to the one who was wearing it. Everyone would know who had won. Everyone would see what he had accomplished. And the victor himself undoubtedly kept that prize with him as long as he was able because it was a visible demonstration of how hard he had worked and how much effort he put in to come out on top.
But the prize, no matter how desired it may have been, was still a couple of dead branches. It wouldn’t last. It never did. Every prize that was ever handed out at the Isthmian Games grew older and more brittle as the years went by. Eventually every crown that any winner ever received fell apart and disappeared. Despite how well they had trained, regardless how hard they had worked to gain the victory, the prize they had fought so desperately to win wouldn’t last. And so Paul says to the Corinthians, “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.”
We too are running a race in this life. And the crown that awaits us at the end of our race is so much more glorious than a wreath of twigs. It is the crown of Christ’s righteousness in the perfections of Paradise itself! It will not fade over time. It will not grow old and disappear. This prize will remain with us forever - and this is why we run! This prize motivates us to continue on the path and strain ahead. This prize that we will one day wear and experience in full moves us to stay on the track and persevere through the challenges. Because this prize isn’t something we just hope to win. It isn’t something we have to try to win. It isn’t something have to earn. Because this prize is something that has already been won for us.
That’s something very important to understand: At the end of this lesson Paul explains, “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.” He runs and he trains and he beats his body and makes it his slave not to earn or win the prize, but so that he will not be disqualified for the prize. And Paul talks in this way because the prize had already been won! Jesus had already earned that prize for him - and for us all! Paul ran the race and we run the race not to somehow gain a reward for our work, but to receive what has already been gained for us: eternal life in heaven with our Savior. That is why we run this race of life. Because we know that whenever we cross the finish line, we will be the victors, we will get the crown, and it will be a crown that will last. In fact, it’s already secured and waiting for us there on the podium. Although the race is still going on as long as we live on this earth, the competition is over. Jesus has already defeated our competitors. He has already secured the victory. And so we can run with joy and anticipation in this life, looking forward to that which is waiting for us up ahead.
Not to say that this race is easy. It isn’t. It’s a hard race. It’s a difficult race. And sometimes it can be a long race. Because although Jesus has defeated our competitors, they are still on the sidelines trying to distract us from the task at hand. And often times they are successful. Our own natural sinful natures and the temptations of this world and the devil working through those things do everything they can to take our eyes off of the prize. And when we take our eyes off the prize we can forget why we are running in the first place! When we don’t have the prize of eternal life in heaven in the forefront of our minds we begin working at our jobs just so that we can pay the bills instead of working to thank the Lord for his gifts. When we don’t have our eyes on the prize we begin to get up every morning, intent on finding ways to make ourselves happy instead of dedicating the day to serving others. When we don’t have our eyes on the prize we are more concerned about our children’s and grandchildren’s physical needs rather than their spiritual necessities. When we don’t have our eyes on the prize we live to make this race easier or more comfortable or more pleasant for us instead of running this race to help God’s kingdom expand. When we don’t have our eyes on the prize it is almost a guarantee that we will have less joy, less peace, less comfort, less hope, less happiness, less strength, and less motivation in our lives because the entire reason behind living as a Christian has been forgotten.
How can we live our lives out of thanks to the Lord if we forget about the prize we are to thank him for? When we don’t keep our eyes on the prize we end up running for ourselves in one way or another instead of running for our God. And that is the very reason why we could never win the prize on our own. We are too sporadic. We lose focus. We are lazy in our training, we are inconsistent with every step, and we are so easily distracted from the goal during the race itself. Not to mention that winning the race would mean we would have to destroy the enemies out to get us as well as able to make a perfect run! We couldn’t win the prize if it were up to us. We wouldn’t even finish the race. And that’s why Jesus already ran the race for us.
Jesus ran our race. Jesus had to go through the same strict training. He had to cover the same track, face the same enemies, and fight off the same distractions - and even more so than we do. Jesus was required to run a perfect race to win the prize. And not just that, but Jesus also had to suffer the penalties of our own disqualification! We have stepped off the track often enough. We have stopped running and have even turned around and went in the opposite direction at times because of our countless sins! And for those infractions we deserve nothing but to lose. And so to win the prize of eternal life for all people, Jesus not only had to work up a sweat, he had to shed his blood and give up his life! This was a serious race that Jesus ran! This contest took pain and sacrifice on the part of our Savior! And he did it all for something he already had! He already had eternal life. He didn’t need it. He didn’t need to win this prize for himself. Because he would live forever in perfection whether he ran this race or not. And so he ran for you. And he won for you. And after he came out victorious, he took that glorious laurel, made from the tree of life, won by his death and resurrection, and placed that crown at the finish line for you to pick up. And so that prize is not only why we run, it is also the reason how we run.
We run hard as Christians. We run with a purpose. We run with joy knowing that the prize is there at the finish line waiting to be placed on our heads. And we are motivated by that prize to remain focused on what lies ahead and to shrug off the distractions that nip at our heels. And because that prize is already ours, we don’t have to run for ourselves; we are free to run for our Lord. Running this race for the Lord includes using our talents and skills to the best of our abilities, taking care of our parents, children, and grandchildren as best we can, loving each other and even our enemies more than we love ourselves, going to church and Bible study, reading our Bibles at home and having daily devotions… And a big part of running this race for our Lord is preaching the Lord’s Word to others. Did you notice that little phrase at the end of Paul’s words? He says, “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.” “Preaching to others” was an important part of how Paul ran. And it should be an important part of how we run. Because these last four verses of chapter nine come at the end of an extended description of how we are to be all things to all people so that we might save some. Chapter nine of 1 Corinthians is about preaching the Word. And these last four verses are no different. Yes, they are filled with pictures of training and competing and running and boxing and the Isthmian Games, but these analogies are all intricately tied in to preaching. And not just a pastor from a pulpit, but a Christian to his neighbor, a Christian to her friend, a Christian to that co-worker or to that relative or to that complete stranger! That is how we run this race: by preaching the Word, by spreading the Word, by inviting, by encouraging, by caring about a person’s soul, by telling them why you will receive the prize of eternal life and why they can look forward to that eternal prize as well - by believing in their Savior.
And so as we run by preaching we can also run with pride. We can run proudly knowing that we are already the victors. We are the children of the Grand Champion, after all! We are the beneficiaries of the one who once hung on a cross and lay in a tomb but now sits on his heavenly throne! We can be completely confident that this prize is ours because that’s what the Winner promises us. And it’s not going to matter how well we run this race or how poorly. The prize is not going to be based on how many finish ahead of us or how many are behind. Our prize is decided by the one who has already crossed the finished line in first place. Jesus won eternal life and he wants to give it away. To all his children. To all who believe. To you. And to all those who trust in the gospel that you share with them. And so as you continue this long and sometimes grueling race, keep your eyes on the prize. It’s the reason why you run this life. It’s the motivation behind how you run. And it’s already yours.
Amen.

“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” - Jude 24-25