RUN, RUN, RUN, AS FAST AS YOU CAN.......

1 Corinthians 9: 24 – 27



24 You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win.
25 All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.
26 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!
27 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.

I love the Message translation. There are times when it misses the mark, but then again, it hits the nail right on the head. Modern translations, some time, can be really silly when they attempt to male sense to contemporary readers, but I really think that the Message, if read with a southern accent, can be fun.
But, I digress.
How many people do you know that decided to run the Boston Marathon the day before the race?
I think we all know the answer to that. Now don't get me wrong, there is a group of runners that they call pirate runners. These guys just show up and after all the official runners leave the starting line, they start running. The problem is that many will run a few yards, run out of breath, and head for the side of the road so that they can puke before walking back to where they parked their car.
Paul's talking about that in the scripture.
You can't hear the word of God once and become a world class preacher the next day.
Paul had to learn by doing long before he got good at teaching effectively.
He committed himself to God, and began running.

Let's do it.
Start training so that we may get the prize that is talked about.
Win the race.