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. (1 Corinthians 9:25, NIV)
What’s collecting dust around your house?
Old suits hanging too long in the closet. Odd curios on the high shelves of your guest room. Maybe even golf trophies, trying but failing to reflect the memories of victory. These are the things that lose their luster—with the key word there being things.
The apostle Paul wrote favorably of the lasting prize of running in God’s race, especially set against the fleeting nature of the world’s finest offerings. Perhaps it helped that winning athletes in those days were given wreaths of laurel, certain to perish quickly now that their foliage had been torn from its livelihood, its roots. Perhaps we are more easily fooled by trophies that shine, at least on the day we receive them.
Paul, of course, was only reiterating the words of Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy…” (Matthew 6:19). We just can’t count on the stuff.
Instead, we do well to consider what God has in mind for our lives. For greater than every Presidents Cup or Claret Jug are prizes in a kingdom that promises to last. Like these:
– Your relationship with the Savior of mankind, who shed his blood to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. This we gain by faith.
– Your rewards in heaven, doled out by God for the way you use the gifts he has given you. This work we do with hope.
– Your friendships with brothers and sisters in Christ. These are met with the challenges of integrity and service to one another, but they are provoked by love.
Yes, these three remain: faith, hope and love. And these three are eternal: God, God’s Word, and people.
We do well to lock our sights on these things that are not things. They are kingdom characteristics and kingdom residents. They are excellent and they are enduring. When we take the time to store up such treasures as these, we can never be said to be wasting our time. Rather, we are making “the most of every opportunity because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).
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Jeff Hopper
October 7, 2013
Copyright 2013 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.