Millions of people all over the world watched in awe as Jamaica's Usain Bolt ran the finals of the 100 and 200 meters sprint races, in world record times, at the recently concluded Beijing Olympics. Members of the media, and track and field experts, struggled to find superlatives to describe the outstanding performance of this athlete. Bolt attributed his success, in part, to hard work, training, and desire. He wanted to win both races, and he also wanted to, along with his country men, win the 4x100 meters relay, which they also did in world record time. The consensus is that it will be a very, very long time before we see another individual performance on the track that surpasses Bolt's. Three races, three gold medals, three world records.
Desire; the will to win. Just as they are important in the natural, so they are in the spiritual because the Christian is also involved in a race. Not before 91,000 screaming fans in an Olympic Stadium, or with millions of people watching on global television, but before our own set of witnesses. In Hebrews 12:1 we read, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." In his first letter to the Corinthians, Message Translation, Paul exhorted, "You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally" (9:24-25).
Like Usain Bolt, it is the ultimate prize that we are after; the gold medal, the "Well done" accolade of our Heavenly Father. In our race, we are running against the forces of darkness that would seek to cut us off and cause us to stumble, but by God's grace, we have to have a strong desire to win. The athletes ran with the bare minimum; nothing to hold them back and they gave it everything they got. That is why Paul concluded, "I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself" (vv.26-27, The Message).
In the presence of your own crowd of witnesses, how are you doing in your race?
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