First Or Last

Emily Nicholson, Australia

"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. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

– 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

devotional

This has always been, hands down, one of my favourite passages in the Bible. There’s something in each of us that loves to win – to create a great presentation at work, to master a fantastic new recipe, to win a tennis match or a hockey game, to see our child grow in new ways – it’s so satisfying. When I was in high school, I was the one who was usually picked last to be on a team when we were playing a game – dodgeball, volleyball, soccer – I wasn’t sporty by nature. It was always so humiliating to be one of the last 2-3 people to be “picked”. I felt very insecure about sport, and it showed!

Here’s the great thing: God loves the team that wins. He loves the team that loses. He loves the team that grows in their capability! God is never about “first” and “last”. Paul shares in this passage that the greatest race we run is only ever against our own capability, our own potential, and really striving to be our best for God! When I think about the story of Cain and Abel, it’s clear that though God was happier with Abel’s offering that day, he still loved the two brothers equally: “ Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?: (Genesis 4:6-7).

In this passage, Paul is asking us to stretch ourselves – to run the race and to finish well. That’s the key – it isn’t about “getting there first”, it’s all about making sure we finish the race: running at our own pace, with the gifts God gives us, to glorify Him. And the truth is, God loves us so much that he always wants us to choose us first to be on His team!

reflection questions

• How are you doing in your own “race”? What areas of “strict training” could help you with the endurance marathon that is the Christian life?

• What do you think a “crown that will last forever” means? Reflect on this. What kind of a crown does God want to give us? What kind of crown does the world give?

• Who else do you know and love who may be faltering in their race? How could you do one thing today to help them?

challenge

Memory scripture: “…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” – Hebrews 12:1