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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. - 1 Corinthians 9:25


This year at the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, medal winners will receive a hand knitted bouquet instead of traditional flowers. A knitting club near Beijing has done all the work. A single petal can take 20 minutes to make, and a single wool rose can take up to 5 hours. In all, 1251 bouquets will be needed for the Olympians and Paralympians. Unlike, traditional flowers, these bouquets will not wilt and die, but will last.   
 
Olympic and Paralympics athletes train everyday leading up to the games. There is no off season for them. Many started when they were very young, sacrificing their early mornings, their social life, their education, their finances as a family to compete. Every meal they have is calculated for energy consumption. They are extremely careful about what they put in their bodies. They subject themselves to scrutiny from people they don’t even know. They do it all for the love of the sport and for a desire to be their very best and perhaps win a medal and a bouquet of flowers.  
 
The Apostle Paul lived for a while near the site of the Isthmus Games, similar to the Olympics but held in off years, near the city of Corinth. There it is thought, he may have made tents for the traveling athletes to use while they competed.    
 
When he wrote his first letter to the church in Corinth, he referenced the games when he wrote… 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. (1 Corinthians 9:25)  
 
Even then, 2,000 years ago, athletes trained hard. They sacrificed, they subjected themselves and their bodies to be their very best in order to compete. The winner of each event won a crown made of laurel leaves that everyone knew would soon wilt and die. That was the point. Winners could only enjoy their victories for so long, and then it was time to go back into training, the victory was then only a memory.  
 
Paul wanted us to know that in a way we are all in a race, running hard to win. This race is not a competition per se against other people, but a race nonetheless, a race to be won, a race that matters, a race that leads to a finish line, a race with a crown at the end and really only one spectator that matters, Jesus Christ.  
 
We run for Him. We run for Christ and for His kingdom. We train daily through prayer, service, sacrifice, surrender, sharing the Gospel with others, loving our neighbor, being in the Word, denying self, focusing on Him, living for the Author and Perfector of our faith.  
 
We take up our cross daily and run the race for that day. And Christ is there to cheer us on. He lives in and through us to make it possible for us to run at all. He is our strength.  
 
At the end of this race, we will receive a crown that is forever. Our work will be noticed, our sacrifices rewarded, our dedication recognized, and our sins and shortcomings forgiven.  
 
So, Paul says, “Run the race set before you. Run in such a way as to win a prize.” We will get tired. We will get discouraged. We will see victories. We will see God at work. We will be transformed along the way, and one day the race will be over.  
 
And Jesus will be there at the end to present to us our crown, that crown that will last forever. He will look at us in the eye and say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”  
 
So run hard today. Give Him your best. When you are tired, rest. When you are rested, get back up and get moving.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and look forward to the day you will receive your prize!