Deliberations 2016 (14): Running the race

In a previous post, I made a comment about the decathlon being arguably the most difficult discipline in the Olympics. This grueling competition consists of TEN events over just 2 days—the long jump, high jump, discus, shot putt, pole vault, javelin (which are the field events), and the 110 meter hurdles, 100 meter sprint, 400 meter and 1500 meter races—the track events. Decathletes are multi-disciplined, and the winner is considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, athlete in the world.

As I watched the decathlon unfold during the 2016 Rio Olympics I was rendered speechless at the completion of the final event—the 1500 meter race. Soooo many strong men falling in exhaustion to the ground – unable to help themselves or any other athlete!

Yes, they had trained rigorously but obviously it took all they had to complete this competition, and only one could be the winner—and this time again, the prize belonged to Ashton Eaton.

I was reminded of a sermon entitled “7 rules for winning the race”, preached by Pastor Mark Ewen on 04/16/2016. The rules referred to running the heavenly race but are applicable to any race:

• ·      Run to win
• ·      Observe strict discipline
• ·      Don’t look back – keep your eye on the prize
• ·      Get constant encouragement from others
• ·      Take off weight (of sin)
• ·      Discount pain
• ·      Never give up

Here’s a relevant quote:

“The humble, self-denying life of our divine Lord we are to keep constantly in view. And then as we seek to imitate Him, keeping our eye upon the mark of the prize, we can run this race with certainty”, (God’s Amazing Grace, P 342).