Running for What Lasts

This morning we look at how St. Paul calls us to run the race with eternal purpose, drawing lessons from the Ancient games of Corinth.

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Running for What Lasts

Good Morning. We have a great Gospel lesson this morning. But I spent a whole hour on very recently at our Wednesday Night Bible Study. However, there are two things I want to grab from it before we jump to our Epistle lesson this morning.

First, the parable’s main point is to teach us the graciousness of our salvation in Christ. God rewards those who work in his kingdom for one hour, or one day the same as if they worked their whole lives in His Kingdom. One reward, one free gift, the resurrection and eternal life, given by grace.

Second, He does call believers to go and labor in His fields. That’s literally what he keeps hiring people to do throughout the parable. How we labor, our attitude and effort, is the focus of the epistle lesson. We’ve had many lessons over the last two months focusing on God’s gracious gift of salvation which brings us into His Kingdom. But that’s not the end of the story.

Paul’s two letters to the Corinthians are aimed at those of us who have heard and responded to Jesus’ call to labor in the fields, as to the attitude we should have when we Labor.

The city of Corinth, where Paul was writing, was the Vegas of the ancient world. They were so obsessed with sports and gambling that they created their own Olympics which they called the Isthmian Games.

The best athletes of Greece gathered in Corinth every two years to compete. The Corinthians were proud of those Games, and Paul, knowing that, used their love of sports to describe something far more important.

To paraphrase our lesson, he says to them, “You’ve all watched the races? You’ve seen what the athletes have to give up give up to compete.” “That’s what the Christian life is like. It’s not a casual jog. It’s a race that demands discipline, direction, and devotion.” “Do you not know,” Paul asks, “that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize?” 

The Games were full of runners who trained for months and then spent all their strength for just one shot at glory. Only one walked away with the crown. Some of you may know what kind of crown it was. Not a gold medal to take home or a plaque. It was a literal crown, but it was made of parsley or celery, and it would wilt before the week was over. But to them, it was everything.

Paul doesn’t say that to mock them. He’s saying, “Look how seriously people will pursue a prize that fades. Shouldn’t we be even more serious about the opportunity that God has given us to work for His kingdom?”

We all run after something. Some run after success, or comfort, or reputation. They can seem like worthy goals, but they’re perishable. The things that last, Paul teaches, are faith, hope, and love, and above all, the eternal life that God promises to those who belong to Christ’s Kingdom.

Paul says, “Run that you may obtain it.” Don’t drift through life spiritually half-awake. Don’t settle for watching from the stands. Get in the race. Run like you actually want to finish well.

Verse 25 says every athlete “exercises self-control in all things.” Training was everything. In the ancient Games, athletes were required to swear an oath that they had trained for ten months before they were even allowed to compete. That meant strict diets, early mornings, sore muscles, and constant repetition.

And all that effort, Paul says, was for a crown that didn’t last a week. How much more should we, who run for the eternal crown of life, be willing to discipline ourselves for something that will never fade?

This isn’t about legalism or trying to earn God’s favor. Christ did that for us by His Death and Resurrection. It’s our response. It’s about learning to say no to the world we were rescued from, so we can say yes to the God who saved us.

A runner doesn’t give up sleep or dessert because those things are evil, but because they slow him down. A Christian disciplines the heart for the same reason.

When Paul says, “I discipline my body and keep it under control,” he’s not talking about self-harm, but about not letting his own appetites or laziness take charge of him. His desires don’t get to drive the race.

We live in a culture that constantly says, “Follow your heart.” But Scripture, in Jeremiah 17:9, says, “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” That’s the problem with following the body’s desires.  Every athlete knows that the body doesn’t automatically want to do what’s good for it. The same is true spiritually. Growth in Christ doesn’t come by accident. It takes choosing daily habits that form us in godliness, prayer, reading the Scripture, generosity, serving others.

It’s not about perfection. It’s about direction. God doesn’t expect us to sprint every moment of life, but He does call us to keep moving toward Him.

It’s easy to get caught up looking over our shoulders or comparing ourselves to others. But runners who do that lose speed and stumble. Paul’s saying, “Keep your eyes forward.” The finish line isn’t a place, it’s a Person. Christ Himself is the prize.

And here’s the good news: in the Christian race, we’re not competing against one another. Every believer who finishes receives the same crown.

That’s our lesson’s tie in with the Gospel lesson this morning. The joy of heaven is not limited. It’s abundant enough for all who run the race with faith.

The world offers a hundred lesser crowns; status, pleasure, comfort, approval, but all of them will wilt like a crown of parsley over time. None of them are necessarily bad, just temporary. The crown Christ offers never fades. It is life itself, shared forever with Him.

Paul’s invitation is simple: Run to win the prize. Don’t drift through your days as if eternity were a side project. When others chase after what fades, let your life point to what lasts.

When the world crowns its champions for a week, or a year, remember that the eternal crown of life is waiting for those who love Him.

You don’t have to be the fastest runner. You just have to keep going. Christ Himself has already run the race for you. He has crossed the finish line carrying your name, and He invites you now to run in His strength, for His glory, and toward His joy. And when your race is done, may you hear those words from the Master of the Games Himself: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”