Many

of us know what it takes to win prizes in this world. People who win

medals at the Olympics, for example, do not achieve that by sheer

grace or because someone decided to be nice to them. No, they

practice many hours a day for years to get stronger and faster than

anyone else.

Paul

uses competitive athletic imagery in this passage, and the ancient

world knew as well as we do what it takes to ­attain athletic

prowess. But how do these verses align with the message of God’s

grace? Earlier in this chapter Paul deemed his human achievements as

“­garbage,” so how does this prize image fit with that?

Well,

for Paul, the grace-­granted knowledge of Jesus’ amazing work

of salvation for us motivated him to give his all in grateful service

to the Savior. Paul knew full well that we cannot earn salvation. But

he also knew that once we receive salvation by grace, we should have

all the determination of an Olympic athlete to do our best for God’s

glory.

When

God the Father looks at how we have lived after encountering Jesus

and responding to the Spirit’s work in us, won’t it be a joy to

hear him say, “You remind me of my Son”? That’s a goal we

should all pursue with the zeal of a world-class athlete!