24 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. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
1 Corinthians 9:24–27 (ESV)
Through the Bible: 1 Corinthians 9–11
You wouldn’t know it to look at me today, but I used to run marathons. I ran three in two years. And I will confess a secret: sometimes, I would look up what the medal for a race looked like before I signed up.
Because here’s the truth: some races had a reputation for having really bougie medals.
The Rock and Roll Marathon series had great medals.
Disney marathon medals were the absolute bougie-est.
So I would register for a marathon and endure weeks of punishing training because it was a cool medal.
It’s been ten years since I ran my last marathon. If you asked me where all those bougie medals are, I honestly have no idea. They’re in a box somewhere. Or a closet. Or maybe a landfill. The point is: something that once motivated me doesn’t matter to me at all anymore.
Which is exactly what Paul says about the Christian life.
Running for the Right Prize
In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul grabs hold of one of the clearest metaphors in Scripture:
“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 Cor. 9:24)
The Corinthians knew this imagery. The Isthmian Games—second only to the Olympics—were held just outside their city. Everyone understood the training. The discipline. The months of self-denial.
And everyone knew the prize.
Winners of the Isthmian Games were crowned with a wreath made of pine or—if you can believe it—withered celery.
Celery.
These elite athletes pushed their bodies to the breaking point…
for what we feed guinea pigs.
It was wilted within days. Brown and crumbly by the end of the week. Yet people trained their entire lives for it.
Paul’s point is devastatingly simple:
If athletes will discipline themselves for that, how much more should Christians discipline themselves for this?
Purpose, Not Passivity
Paul says he doesn’t run aimlessly (v. 26). He doesn’t “box the air.” He’s not shadowboxing through the Christian life.
He runs with purpose.
He trains with intention.
He brings his desires under the lordship of Christ so he won’t be disqualified.
Not because he’s afraid of losing salvation—Paul is secure in Christ.
But because he’s afraid of wasting his calling.
And that’s the line that grabbed me this morning.
Most of us aren’t in danger of losing our salvation.
We’re in danger of losing our focus.
We get spiritually flabby.
We jog aimlessly.
We drift instead of run.
Not because we don’t love Jesus, but because we forget what we’re running for.
The Prize That Doesn’t Fade
For awhile, I displayed those race medals proudly. But over time, I stopped running. I was’t signing up for races anymore, no matter how cool the medal was. And those medals became just one more thing to dust. Then, just one more thing to gather dust. They were shiny for a weekend. Maybe two. But they didn’t last.
Paul says:
“They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.” (v. 25)
In Christ, we run for a reward that will not tarnish, fade, or get lost in the back of a closet.
We run for joy.
We run for holiness.
We run for Christ Himself—the One waiting at the finish line, the One who empowers every step.
So Run Like It Matters
Don’t drift through your days.
Don’t shadowbox your sanctification.
Don’t run aimlessly.
Run like the Christian life matters—because it does.
Run with your eyes on Jesus.
Run for the only prize that lasts.
He’s worth the miles.
He’s worth the training.
He’s worth everything.
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