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Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
1 Corinthians 9:24
Reflect
By now you can probably tell how much I love sports, and especially special events like the Olympic Games. I think I caught the Olympic bug when they came to Atlanta when I lived there. The atmosphere at the games is truly electric. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced anywhere else.
One of the things I love about the Olympics is the performances that it inspires, even from the lesser-known athletes. Where else would we root for barefoot marathoners, uncoached swimmers, fathers of sprinters, nearsighted ski jumpers or Jamaican bobsledders?
Of course, then there are the true greats, like Jackie Joyner-Kersee. She might be the greatest athlete of all-time (as she was dubbed by Sports Illustrated at the end of the 20th century). Her Olympic journey started in 1984 when she captured the silver medal in the first-ever women’s heptathlon competition. Four years later in Seoul, Korea, she won gold with a World and Olympic record that still stands in that competition – 7,291 points. Then in 1992 – in fact, on August 2, 1992 – she hit gold again despite being below her marks from the previous Olympics in every event. That total – 7,044 points – would still have been a world record in Seoul. In fact, Jackie’s 1988 and 1992 totals still stand as the top two heptathlon totals in the 37 years the event has been held. And she’s the only woman ever to have won the heptathlon twice.
If you’ve watched this year’s Olympics, you’ve no doubt seen amazing performances from athletes in a lot of different competitions. They, like Jackie Joyner-Kersee, have prepared their whole lives for this one moment on the world’s biggest athletic stage. This year, more than 10,000 athletes are in Tokyo competing for just 339 medals. That means that thousands of athletes will be going home with just the experience of being there.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians about this very situation. He said that everyone competes, but there is only one winner – so in the race we’re running, we should run as if we’re going to win. He also told us that the prize that athletes pursue is perishable. They ran to win a crown of olive leaves, and you know those only last so long. Even the gold, silver and bronze medals won at the Olympics won’t go with the winner into the next life. The prize we want, Paul says, will never perish. That’s the everlasting life that comes with a relationship with Jesus Christ.
So how do we win this race. Again, as Paul says, we train and discipline ourselves, just as athletes do. An athlete in training does all of the right exercises. They drink lots of water and they don’t eat junk food. They make sure they have the fuel they need to perform at the highest level. That’s our model. We need to do all of the right spiritual exercises, such as worship and prayer. We need to consume plenty of the living water and feed on the Word of God to make sure that our spiritual bodies are built up for service in the Lord.
When you reflect on the great athletic feats of the past, like Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s record-setting performances, or when you watch the incredible modern feats in this year’s Olympics, remember that each of those competing got there through intense training and sacrifice. And spiritual training and exercise on that same level is the only way that we will win in the Lord’s marathon.
Reflection copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
