In life, in the everyday cycle we’re all living.
At the end of each day, what makes you say “that was worth it”?
Think about that for a second......
1 Corinthians 9:22-27 (NIV) says:
To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 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.
Wow! That’s some serious dedication you got there, Paul! Becoming all things to all people, running hard after the prize, beating your flesh into obedience?! You mean I gotta do all that fighting, all that work to win the prize? Better be a pretty good prize, right?! Well, folks, I’ve got good news for you! This “prize” that Paul is speaking about is not just “pretty good,” it is completely and totally 100% worth the fight!
What is this prize you may ask?
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. - Philippians 3:7-9 NIV
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. - James 1:12 NIV
The prize is knowing Jesus! The prize is the crown of life and eternity spent with the creators of the universe! Let that sink in... God, who created everything, who breathed life into you, who see’s your every sin, who knows your thoughts before you even think them - that God! He is who you are going to stand before when this vapor of a life is finished, and He is going to give you a crown of life, eternal life! What?!
Church, when we shift our focus heavenward, having an eternity mindset, everything changes! All of a sudden, the trials and hardships we are fighting through seem to dim in the light of who He is! And who we are in Him. We start looking at everything as an opportunity to serve Him, to serve other people. Because the awe and amazement at the crazy love that He extends to us is so overwhelming, it spills over into everything we do! And it strengthens us in the fight!
And this is a fight! Make no mistake. He promised that we’d have troubles. He told us it would be a hard fight that would require us to give everything. It’s not a once and done thing. It is an every day, get up and choose the straight and narrow, get some battle scars along way kind of fight. We’re in a war. There’s no two ways about it.
But when we fight, we don’t fight alone. He’s next to you! Holding up your sword when you’re too weak to swing it anymore. Whispering in your ear “keep going, I promise it’s worth it. I’m worth it!”
And He is! So, so worth it. All of it - everything you could imagine. He is the prize worth fighting for! Plain and simple, flat out worth it! And praise Him that He chose to extend that prize to us through His blood! Giving us access to Him, forever!
I’m attaching a song that I pray encourages you in the fight! In the race to gain the prize of eternal life with Jesus
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