After the game:
In our game we did not have a single winner. The point of the game
was to finish the race. If you finished, then you won! The Apostle
Paul wrote in his second letter to Timothy, " I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
(2 Timothy 4:7-8)
Paul was writing to Timothy to encourage him to continue faithfully
serving the LORD. Paul was looking back over his life and like an
athlete describing a successful contest, he wanted Timothy to know he
had "finished the race" and had "kept his faith in
God". An athlete is required to lead a disciplined life by
exercising, eating the right foods, practicing his or her sport, and
never giving up on the goal to win. In the same way, Paul never gave up
following Jesus and in putting his faith into practice. But most importantly,
Jesus never gave up on him. The Bible says, "Never
will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
(Hebrews 13:5) Paul was looking forward to receiving the crown of
righteousness as his reward! He also kept in mind that Jesus was going
to come back to earth again, the verse says"... to all who have longed for his
appearing."
Would you like to receive this crown of
righteousness too? To be righteous means to be made perfect. The
Bible tells us that we are made righteous by faith in God. To have
faith in God means to trust or believe in him. The Bible says, This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
Romans 3:22.
What is it that God wants us to believe and trust
in? The Bible says, "...I want to remind you of the gospel
(the Good News) I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your
stand...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures..." 1Corinthians 15:1-4.
The Bible says, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
Romans 10:9-10
In our game, "Off To The Races", some people made it
to the finish line first, but everyone finished. In the same way, some
people will make it to Heaven before we do. As we move through this
life, we will oftentimes be further along than others in our
"race" towards heaven. It is during those times that we can
encourage and cheer on our friends to stay on track and finish their
race just like we did in our game when we cheered on our friends.
It is a matter of life and eternal death to make
sure we finish our race here on earth and make it across the finish
line into Heaven. Stay on track, and finish the race God has set out
for you.
Pray: Dear Jesus, thank you that you died for us to
forgive our sins. Thank you for rising from the dead to give us
eternal life in heaven. Thank you for making us right with God. Help
us to not grow weak, but to finish our race strong. Help
us to follow you in all our ways. Amen.
Copyright 2002 Sarah
A. Keith
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